Tempt of Fate
by Tsuyoku
Summary: Bulma and her husband, the King, go to Vegeta-sei to renew a contract for peace. Vegeta and Bulma go head to head: but does rivalry turn into romance? And when years later, Bulma returns with a child, Vegeta has some questions...
1. Arrival

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything relating to, nor am I making any money off of this. Don't sue me. This applies to all chapters of the fiction from here on.

Tsuyoku: My third DBZ fic one of them isn't posted yet. I really like this idea. I might, as well, be working on another. I have ADD, so I work on a lot of fics at once and don't have a set date to complete them by. Just a warning. This fic is an AU as are a lot, but there are many of mine that are not that I have not put up on or yet.

CHAPTER ONE: Tempt of Fate

She found herself shivering even with the silk shawl over her shoulders. The ship was cool and clean, not a bit of homely warmth to it at all. That was what she did not like about these diplomatic missions. They were always so cold, so undeniably sickening that it was a pain to go on them. But that was the fate of a King's wife. Bulma was technically a Queen and was raised in the depths of royalty, but there was hardly a spark of the trademark conceit that most the family carried. She had the will and power to do many things, a gift which she was very grateful of. Still, there were some parts of your job that you were allowed to hate and this was one of them. There was no telling why the Queen was required to accompany her husband on trips to renew contracts, but as it was, she went along and did not complain aloud.

A total of Seven days. Seven days and six nights they would be on the planet Vegeta-Sei. It was a long duration on these other planets, and even though they were usually greeted with open arms and many nights of exquisite food and dancing entertainment, Bulma just wanted to be home, solving hunger problems, giving money to the poverty-stricken, doing what she loved best. Bulma, without knowing it, was the epitome of the ultimate Royal House Representative; she loved solving the problems of the planet that she co-ruled, and sometimes, even other planets benefited from her generosity. In a sense, she was a genius, and the people were lucky to have her.

Her husband was the different story. He ruled like there was a fleet of army ships waiting outside the gravity pull of their planet to attack them any moment. And he trained his troops like there was no tomorrow. Their space fleet was one of the best, sometimes to their disadvantage. Many men were not available to work in their jobs and control the means of production; their wives were now accustomed to those tasks. It's not that Bulma hated the fact that the women were working--she loved women's rights--but that caused children to work to support their own family. That was why she was always giving money and her own help to the people.

A voice sounded over the intercom in her native language. They were now approaching the planet of Vegeta-Sei, and as much as she really didn't want to be there, Bulma wanted so badly off that ship. The cabin fever was getting to her as it had many of the crew. Her husband, King Atrono, was used to the feeling of being cooped up in ships as these.

The landing area was already filled with many diplomats; their clothing suggested their importance. Her suit of blue cotton, the color of royalty from where she came from, twisted this way and that in the wind that washed through the landing area. Bulma had never been to Vegeta-Sei before, so the area, clothing, and dialect were very much different from her own. She had studied many forms of language growing up. One had to be able to communicate with people if one was to rule the people. She knew the formal out-of-the-book language of Vegeta-Sei, but she was getting the full course in the different dialect that people spoke. Bulma could understand what the diplomats were saying, their speak very formal and crisp, but the servants that surrounded them, however little they spoke, had such a different tone and possibly a different accent than the others. It was very odd, to see such a society have a clear line drawn between the nobles and common folk. How she hated that.

To her surprise, they were told that the King was not there to meet them, but would see them later that evening in the Great Hall. Bulma thought it rude for him not to greet his guests as they arrived, but followed one of the diplomats to their suite accommodations.

While her husband went off for some reasons, Bulma sat for a while in their room writing on her fantasy stories. She found such a pleasure in being able to escape from reality while writing her pseudo novels. It was a pleasure of hers that she allowed herself, for her stories were only for her own use, not to be published or used anywhere. But today the words just weren't flowing through. She was stuck, something that didn't usually happen, but when it did Bulma found it hard to concentrate on the writings. She sighed.

Outside the window, Bulma could see most of the city. The ports seemed constantly used on this planet. She could see the people walking and running around. They had many different types of clothing here. Bulma was never one to believe in the class system, so she found it very oppressing that it was used on Vegeta-Sei. You could see the gap in education when they walked by; you could cut the tension between the diplomats and their servants with a knife. She couldn't stand it. Bulma decided that she really didn't like how this place was run, and even though she had never met him, the king of Vegeta-sei was starting to really sound like a prick.

She shouldn't think like that, Bulma knew. It was her job as a diplomat to understand other people and cooperate with the rest of the coexisting universe.Sigh. She stood up and exited the room, looking around the halls which were very beautifully decorated. It was an old sort of decoration, a classical approach to the palace décor. She found it quite lovely. No doubt that the king probably didn't have anything to do with the palace decoration on a normal basis—there she went again, assuming things.

Her indigo pants swayed under the lighter color suit jacket that she wore; it seemed that she completely matched this palace. In royal blue, streams of fabric hung through the halls, and here she was: a blue-eyed, blue-haired, blue-dressed beauty walking the halls.

'Yes,' Bulma thought, 'I am beautiful.' She knew it, her planet knew it. 'But most of the time, I think that my husband doesn't.' She seemed to be sighing a lot lately. It was the new surroundings, she told herself.

Here she was, still walking around the hallways, not having much of an idea as to where she was going, but still not caring either way. She might've tried to find the great hall where her husband was holding meetings at this very moment, but Bulma knew that she was not expected to attend them. She'd heard the rumors about King Vegeta at least. He was sexist. That made him a prick, she supposed. She'd already noticed the lack of women that roamed the palace and the streets. There were very few, and even when she did see some, they were dressed in some sort of armor, as if they were attempting to be masculine. It didn't make sense.

But it wouldn't now, would it? Things weren't supposed to make sense when you were on another planet, especially when it was so different from your own.

'Quick', she thought. 'there's someone talking down there.' Peeking around the corner, she found a man talking to someone else. The first man she couldn't make out, only that he had big hair and a cute butt. The second man wasn't even visible for how the first one towered over him. But she knew that they were both men for the sound of their voices echoing softly off the walls.

The first one moved a bit over and she could now see the second one. 'So that's him, she short one…' The shorter, second man stood at and angle, his clothing suggesting that he was the king and that he was to be treated with respect. Not that he was getting any from this first man. Now the voices were arguing over the dungeon capacity or something of the sort.

'What a silly thing to argue over.' Suddenly the first man turned around and was walking straight towards her. She found herself backing up a few feet around the corner, praying that it wasn't her that he was approaching. But she quickly found that he hadn't seen her and was walking now down the adjacent hallway and through a set of grand doors.

She inwardly sighed for a moment. But it was short lived as a voice called out specifically to her from down the hallway where the king still stood. "Woman, I saw you standing there. I can smell you. Come out, I demand so." His voice was at least a bit cooler than it had been when he was speaking with that man, but no so much that she was comforted. Bulma rounded the corner and stood before him, still assuming a safe distance of about ten feet or so.

"Tell me why you were standing there listening to my conversation." It was not a question, it was a demand. Though she didn't take kindly to this treatment on a normal basis, she was a little scared in her current situation. And he knew it too.

"I was wandering around. I happened to stumble on the two of you speaking, though I was just on my way." There was nothing in her voice or body language to suggest that she was lying or that she had been spying on them, the King noted that.

"Wandering around." Once again, it wasn't a question, just a demand to explain. Bulma was soon to realize that the king wouldn't ask questions. He'd demand. Her husband did the same thing. He demanded an answer. A question left the subject open for discussion; a demand did not.

"I'm here with my husband. I was just looking for the Great Hall where I could find him when I heard you two. We are here—"

"I know why you're here woman. I know who you are. There is no mistaking that. You stick out too much to belong here." Bulma narrowed her eyes at his statement. It was true, but he said it with disdain and a mocking tone. Well, she wasn't scared of him. Not like all the others. He wouldn't have the guts to do anything to her. Or so she thought...

She turned away and started to walk away from him, not wanting to talk any longer. But Bulma was about to see a small bit of the true power that the ruler had stored away. Her arm was grabbed and she was spun around. It was amazing; Bulma hadn't even heard him walk towards her. "How dare you walk away from me, woman." She was more scared now.

"How dare you grab me!" Bulma had no idea why she had said that, nor wanted to think very much as she was lifted off of the ground a few feet. The hand around her neck was not choking her, but the circulation would be cutting off soon, so she did the only thing that she felt she had the power to. Bulma struggled.

As futile as it seemed, there were only two ways that she was going to get out of this situation: one was that she would suddenly gain super strength and fight the king off (unlikely), and the other was that she would just apologize and get it over with. Bulma found the second one a bit more realistic and even though her pride would be severely hurt, Bulma opened her mouth to say it.

"Forgive me, your Highness. It was not my place to disobey you." She spoke.

'Oh Please!!!' Bulma spoke to herself inside. How pathetic did she look? Sure, she'd said the same things to her husband when he yelled at her, but there was never a time that she actually sincerely said it. Her husband would be appeased if she said it, whether or not she meant it.

"Hn." Was all that he said. Actually, it wasn't said; it was more of a grunt that told her she could go. His hand released Bulma's neck and her body slid down the wall to which it had been pinned. She rubbed her neck a bit to relieve the soreness. It hadn't choked her, more like it held her there while his eyes did the talking. Those black pits seemed emotionless to her before, but as Bulma remembered looking into them for those long seconds, there was as much built up passion and emotion that she had in her. A king needed something like that, she supposed.

"You'd do well to remember that, Woman." He'd taken to calling her that, had he? Well, Bulma would've liked to have given him a piece of her mind, but reflecting on the events moments ago, she kept her mouth shut and instead watched him walk away.

And so was Bulma's first encounter with the King of Vegeta-Sei.

But it wouldn't be the last. She figured that whenever she saw the king, they would be at each other's throats, whether or not it was verbally, physically, or more likely just between the two in an unspoken fight.

$$&&#$

The evening wasn't that great either. If she hadn't liked being on this planet with it's irrelevant class system and stuck up diplomats before, Bulma surely didn't enjoy the dinner the least bit.

No one spoke, except for the small murmurs between the diplomats, King Vegeta, and King Atrono. All the others present sat in a very thick silence. Her eye couldn't help but twitch. And as they exited to leave for bed, Bulma once again locked eyes with King Vegeta; his gaze once again showed her what was really behind his face. It scared her, but Bulma's pride made her unable to look away while they glared daggers towards each other. So despite the pride that rose up in her again, Bulma unlocked her eyes from the fallen King and walked off behind her husband. It would not be wise to make him very angry with her. She knew that Vegeta would not be the type of man to call her impudence out to her husband, there was more pride in him than that; however, Bulma figured that he held a grudge, and that could hurt the renewal of their contract.

So, she walked down the hallways beside her husband. "You let her walk beside you." Once again, the King did not ask questions; he used the reactions to his statements as a good enough answer.

"Hm." It seemed that her husband had taken to the King. There was never any question about her walking beside him when they were at home, but here, it seemed, things were different and whether or not she was able to be an equal at home, the King Vegeta saw to it that she act inferior while she was there on his planet. So, Bulma, crushing her pride that seemed to be screaming at her to yell at him, stopped walking and allowed her husband to pass her a few paces before resuming her small walk to turn in for the night.

Stupid, arrogant, self-centered King!

#(#$&#$#$#

Tsuyoku: I'm currently working on this fic and Mission Accepted the most. I have a few new ones out as well (possibly a Rurouni Kenshin and maybe a few new Inu Yashas, but don't quote me on that last one.) I hope to have chapter two up sooner than most of my updates have come. THX R&R! Flames accepted.


	2. Halls and Walls

Tsuyoku: It's finally here! Please tell me what you think, I'm begging!

Tempt of Fate: Chapter Two

"Stupid... men... Can't stand them..." Bulma mumbled as she walked along the hallways. Her husband had insisted that they try again for an heir, though Bulma refused. How was she to have sex with her husband on another planet, in someone else's bed for that matter?! It was just something she wouldn't appreciate on her planet, so that wasn't going to happen until they were home.

And even then... Bulma wanted to rule her planet before she became pregnant. When a woman got pregnant, they weren't allowed to do anything. To have the King's child was an honor, and to do anything that would jeopardize the perfection of the child was intolerable. But as much as Bulma respected that they did not want the baby to miscarry, there were many other reasons that she should, for now, focus on the well being of her country.

For Kami's sake, she was barely eighteen to begin with, there was plenty of time before she would be in her prime. Bulma wished she could say the same for her husband, however. He was thirty six years her senior, which didn't exactly give him forever to have a child of his own. It's... It's just hard to have sex with someone that you don't love, and Bulma really didn't love her husband. Of course, they'd been married for years -- she was given to him on her sixteenth birthday -- which made them friends, but it didn't make them lovers.

"Lovers..." Bulma mumbled.

"Walking about the halls again, Woman. It would be quite wise not to go poking about and getting into trouble." Vegeta startled her, though Bulma supposed that she should have been paying more attention to where she was headed. Bulma wasn't exactly sure where in the castle she was in relation to her room.

"I was just clearing my head. I couldn't sleep." Why was she explaining herself to him?

"Lovers?" He restated what she had just said.

"Huh?" This startled Bulma. He couldn't possibly be suggesting that... no...

"You said 'Lovers' when you were acting so unladylike. You wouldn't dare think of letting anyone but the King touch you. Or are you unfaithful, Woman?" He looked at her, gazing at her figure while all the well knowing that she was a faithful person. Tormenting her, however, was something that he could do. He could do anything -- he had the power.

"I wouldn't dare," Bulma looked at him square in the eye. Then she bowed, as proper as she could have, "Now if you would excuse me your highness, I wish to get some rest for tomorrow." Bulma turned around and started walking. She kept her eyes on the halls, trying to remember the steps that her feet took while she was thinking so deeply.

"You don't even know where you're going, do you." There was that voice again, with another snide statement. Why couldn't he go somewhere else and be an insomniac?

"Pardon me, King Vegeta, but don't you ever sleep?"

"Most nights. Some, however, I prefer to walk the castle." Vegeta just looked at her. She would've asked him what the hell he was staring at, but if it meant getting pinned to the wall by her neck again, she would pass. Bulma just stared right back at him, square in the eyes. Was he really as messed up as he made her think? There was only a small amount of a normal being in him, however small it may be. What was his game, and how did he intend to play it?

"I know perfectly well where I'm going, thank you." No, she didn't. Bulma didn't have any clue as to where she was, and she'd much rather be wandering the halls all night in her night clothes than bare much more of this silence that he put her through between sentences.

"Yes, I'm sure that you do..." Sarcasm, his best and only friend. His hand took her shoulder and pushed it as he walked along side her for a few strides. But, it seemed that he realized they were walking side by side, and that was unacceptable. "Follow me, Woman." Vegeta walked ahead of her, telling her that he was leading her back to her room. His figure was stiff, why was he so uptight anyways?

"Thank you for leading me back," Bulma said when she recognized the doors he'd stopped in front of. His reply was only a grunt, but she looked at him as if he would say more, knowing that it was futile. His eyes stared at her again. Damn, why did he stare so much-- it was rude. And what she wouldn't give to know what was going on in that head of his! "Well," after a few minutes, she broke their staring contest. "Thank you, King Vegeta. I will see you tomorrow then." Her hand reached for the elaborate door handles, it touched the cool metal before she felt a rough hand on her shoulder, this time ripping her around to once again face him. "What is your problem--?"

His lips were on hers. His. Lips. Were. On. Hers. She unconsciously felt the design of the door pressing into her back, but ignored it as they began to battle it out, this time with their tongues instead of their eyes. Why was the tension suddenly being released? Was it really sexual? Or was it some crazy trick that he had cooking just to drive her crazy? Hands roamed over her body as her own flew to his hair. One of them moaned. The vibration spread through both their bodies. It was wonderful. Bulma had kissed no man but her husband, and even then, he hadn't excited feelings like this out of her. What power did this man hold over her at this very moment that didn't allow her to control her own body?

She moaned, one of her hands grasping the back of his neck, hanging there for support. She was then released. And he was gone in that very second, hiding in the darkness. Yes, he was good at that.

Bulma just stood there, back still pressing against the door, the cool metal feeling wonderful on her heated body through her thin night clothes. Why did she feel like this? Nothing came close to what she'd just felt. Is this what she was missing being married to a man that she did not love? Of course. You couldn't kiss like that if it had no emotion behind it.

So what did it mean that Vegeta was able to kiss her like that? He certainly didn't love her, that was for sure. Lust? Most likely. Bulma was aware of her sex appeal and beauty, so that had to be it. Had the King been playing with her this whole time? Now the connection that they shared everytime their eyes locked suddenly made sense to her.

Damn him and his lips.

Vegeta watched her reaction from the shadows of the halls. Her flushed face, slim body pressed against the door, night clothes ruffled, body breathing heavily... yes that had been him, and it brought a great sense of pride to be the one that could bring her emotions to the surface when he knew no other man could. You could tell that she didn't love her husband, and that woman looked like she'd never had a real screw in her life. She wasn't broken in. And that was what brought his lusty monkey side to the surface.

Yes, that Woman would know her place by the time she left this planet.

Bulma became aware of her body cooling down to suffer the chill that replaced Vegeta's prescence. Her hand left her lips, which still pulsed with the rushing blood through them, she needed to go back inside. Her husband would be sleeping by now, so it was safe to say that she could get a good night's sleep.

But maybe Vegeta had ruined that for her now anyway.

Sleep was restless that night, and Bulma looked a little worse for wear the next day. Damn, it was only her second day on Vegeta-Sei, and Bulma had already vowed to avoid the King at all possible times. Of course, there were some meetings that she had to attend - Bulma wanted to keep up on the current changes in the contract and what was best for her planet -- and there were meal times when she would be joined by the King. Of course, the poiticians would join, and then there was her husband, but what would protect Bulma from those stares, those gazes, that he was sure to send her way every possible moment? How would she protect herself from these feelings?

"Avoiding him is the best bet that I have." Maybe she should just stay in her room for a little while. Bulma gazed out the window, which overlooked the port. It was still disgusting to her -- she could see the servants and nobles roaming the port base, and you could see the difference between each class by clothing.But what was she to do to keep herself occupied? It wasn't like she had anything to do around here; her duties lay on her own planet -- not Vegeta-Sei.

"I guess I could study up on my language. It's very important to know what everyone is saying, especially the lower classes. You were sure to be able to define a planet by how it treats the 'lower society'. Vegeta-Sei wasn't making a great impression on her at this point. There she sat in her room for the longest time. She tried to look at the words on the pages, but nothing was really sinking in. All she could think about was King Vegeta and the amazing feelings that he had given her last night.

_You vow to avoid him, and he still manages to chase you around your mind! Ag!_

For the longest time, Bulma stood at the balcony facing towards the east of the port. The sea was before her -- of course, she wouldn't have thought this place to have such beautiful surroundings with the people on it being so detestable -- and it sparkled from the suns floating above. Bulma looked at the glistening sea beside the port, silently wishing that all of Vegeta-sei was like this -- it was beautiful in some places such as the palace in his height of luxury and sophistication--but other areas were severely lacking, including the attitude of people there, But ma wandered about the room trying to concentrate On her language studies, but it was no use. She was way too antsy; her mind hated being cooped up in one place for too long.

She walked towards the door, but was stopped short by the folded paper barely sticking still under the door. Cautiously, she pulled it from its lodge and surveyed the room.. No one else was here, Bulma quietly cracked the door to peer into the hall either way, But silence answered her unheard call.

She shut the door and turned to the paper in hand. It was a subtle white With a royal looking border, and it was folded three times like a pamphlet.

A sadistic smirk gathered on her mouth; it was a map of the castle... and there was only one bastard that could have had the balls to slide it under her door. He was mocking her, mocking her for last night when he had to lead her back to this room And then he...

But Bulma's hand flew up to touch her lips; she hadn't forgotten about that. Vegeta had kissed her, He'd ruined it for her now. Now that Bulma had had a tastes of such unbridled passion, she wasn't as satisfied with her current situation anymore, not when she knew what a real man could do. She shook her head free of these thoughts and opened the door again to explore the castle without getting lost. Bulma slipped the map into the pocket of her blouse and straightened her skirt. She'd been through a lot of the first floor last night, even though she remembered nothing, but there didn't seem to be anything interesting down there. What she was interested in were the upper floors of the castle, and what lie up there.

Although she didn't want to, in some way Bulma had to thank Vegeta for the map--if there was something she hated, it was relying on people to get around. But she suspected that he was not doing this out of kindness, it was more to make fun of her than anything else.

When mid day had come and gone, Bulma had been glad she'd been occupying herself one way or another, but it was time for lunch. Vegeta probably hadn't counted on her actually using the map. Bulma heard faint voices even before she entered the back of the kitchens.

"Yes, thank you. I'll go ahead and take lunch in my suite." Bulma almost ran in to the woman speaking to the chef.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ma'am, I didn't see you there!'" The young woman turned towards Bulma in a wave of dark hair and robes.

"It's fine, I was just walking in to find something to eat around here. I'm Bulma." She

nodded at the young woman. She seemed to be about her age or a little older, dark hair and eyes and lovely pale skin. Bulma couldn't think of much else to say to her, however. What was protocol with introducing yourself on this planet?

The old woman in the black uniform, obviously one of the staff, approached her. "Would you like lunch delivered to your suite as well, dear?" But the other young woman beat her to the answer, as well as rescuing her from having to dine alone cooped up in her own room.

"Go on and send hers to my room as well, we'll be dining together." And that was all she said before slipping her arm through Bulma's and walking. Bulma couldn't object before the woman started to talk again. ''My name is Chi chi, and you must be the new resident here. But of course, I should know you anywhere -- everyone's been talking about this 'blue-haired beauty' that's been walking the halls for the past few days."

"Well, I don't know about that," Bulma blushed. "But I am on a treaty mission with my husband, and our stay here will be of some duration. I guess until both my husband and the King get what they want."

"Yes, that may take a while. Isn't it just a little annoying that the Queen has to come as well? I see a lot of them that come through here that sit in their room all day and not be concerned with it all. But I see that you're a bit different. You're involved with your kingdom's politics, aren't you?" Bulma opened her mouth to agree, but this Chi Chi seemed to be one chatterbox. Bulma couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"So, if you're here, who is running your Kingdom, miss Bulma? Politics, they're just pish posh sometimes. I get enough politics as it is, all that talk between nations. For once I want to have a social life with someone close to my own age, which is why you're here with me.'' Bulma's impression of this woman was that of a dominating political wife or something like that, but it was nice that someone else was taking charge. Kind of like her kindred spirit, but a little more pushy and dominating. They kept walking, small talk in between silence.

Chichi's room was about the size of Bulma's, but hers looked a little more lived in.

"Wow, Chi Chi, how long are you here for? You look as if you're settled in for some duration." Bulma looked at the full closest and chests, she wouldn't have even unpacked completely if the servants hadn't done it for her.

"Oh, Bulma, I live here. Unfortunately I do not get to come and go to other _construe And f laments.. _My father, however, is from another planet. He's the Ox King, a well known diplomat for Vegeta-Sei.'' She motioned to a small seating area in the corner. The grand windows next to it over looked a lush forest for miles which dissipated into large village homes, but even for the look and state of the homes, the window's picturesque visage was still a seemingly natural beauty.

"So, you're a Princess living in on Vegeta- Sei with your father, who's a diplomat? Must make for a pretty interesting life, especially with that King running around!" Bulma couldn't help the frustration in which that last sentence was spoken.

Chichi cocked her head. ''Yes, the king has his days, He's cocky," she smiled, "but he's good at what he does. Being proud never hurt anyone on this planet at least. Bulma grimaced slightly; _'Yeah, Vegeta never hurt anyone...' _but she was a probably an exception since she wasn't from this planet. Oh, how much of her relationship had he ruined when he pinned her to the door and introduced her to passion. "Anyways, I've gotten used to dealing with the politics when I have to, and I've gotten used to avoiding people like Vegeta for the rest of the time."

"So, what made you come to live here, Chi Chi?"

"Well, father's empire fell a while back, and because of his strong relations with Vegeta-sei, he was able to move and establish a life here, while our people either went to other kingdoms or moved with us to Vegeta-sei. All my friends and companions moved away to other kingdoms. Father gave me the option to go with them and travel, but..." Chi Chi blushed. Her hands moved to her lap and fiddled with the edge of her shawl.

Bulma was interested now, "What made you stay?" It had to be something special for her to refused traveling and not staying here in Vegeta-sei.

"Well, on our missions to Vegeta-sei when I was younger, I met a young Sayjin youth here that I was, ahem, quite taken with. I guess you could call it my childhood crush. And the option to stay on this planet and be close to him was just too _tempting_."

A knock at the door was what interrupted Bulma's astonishment at Chi Chi's love story.

"So, who is the guy that you're in love with?"

"Oh, it's Goku, my husband."

#()#

After lunch, Bulma decided to find her room again and rest, so she said farewell to Chi Chi and promised that they would meet for lunch again.

Bulma made her way through the halls, taking the long way back to her suite. She kept thinking about what Chichi said and the love that she felt for this Goku, her husband. The thought of marrying for love was never something that Bulma allowed herself to think about, since there was no point in being sorry over something that you couldn't have.

"Make a new friend." Once again, no question in that. Bulma would have jumped if she wasn't so used to his voice popping out of nowhere when she was alone.

"Do you do nothing but wander about the palace scaring people that are deep in thought?" His smile turned to a menacing one, sadistic and joking at the same time. He stepped out of the hole in the wall to her, never moving his eyes from hers.

There was something about his gaze that set her off again. Her body grew hot in the cool hallway. Bulma's eyes darted from his to move down to his lips and then back. Those lips, the strong muscular ones that were all over her own the night before.

And suddenly they were again.

Bulma wanted to ask him about all the random kissing they'd done in these hallways, but the feeling of connecting with another human being in this romantic, sexual way was too much for any brain functions to go on at the moment. Her husband had never touched her like this, no other person... but wait...

"No," Bulma said, peeling her body from his. "You were just lecturing me on being faithful last night. For all I know, this is just some sadistic plot to embarrass me, or something..." Why couldn't she talk correctly? Bulma guessed that it had something to do with her flushed teeth and her moist loins.

"Ah, but Woman, I believe my words were, 'You wouldn't let anyone but the King touch you' -- and I am in fact the King." To punctuate his words, he grabbed her around the waist and threw her into the nook in the walls where he'd been standing before. He didn't really have to justify himself, but it was amusing sometimes.

Her beauty called to him, woke something deep inside. Her attitude and spark of life in those bright eyes were a beacon of light in his dark world. And while she was there, he would definitely take the chance to _enjoy_ her company.

&

Tsuyoku: Well, that's about it for this time around. I'll start working on the next chapter soon, but working two or more jobs plus school has been killing me so please forgive me for not updating. Please review, I would really like to know how you guys like it. I mean, this is probably one of my favorite stories that I have out right now. Love! R&R!


	3. Reckless Affections

Tsuyoku: To all those who reviewed when I posted that last chapter (and you know who you wonderful readers are), this one is dedicated to you! It really helped me out and gave me a writer's boost as soon as I read them. I love all the feedback and hope that it continues to come in as I put up more and more chapters, thanks! (p.s. Some of the wording in this chapter may get a little explicit. Nothing too bad, just be forewarned. XP)

Thanks from waiting and here it is!

Tempt of Fate: Chapter Three

Bulma rolled over in her bed. She was groggy; the night before had been a rough and confusing one. She lifted her hands to shield them from the sun to her right...

"What?" Bulma sat all the way up in the bed in one large swoop. 'Where the hell am I?' The windows in her room were to the left of the bed... And this bed was large, blue, silky, and definitely not hers. 'What the hell happened last night--'

Bulma cut herself short. What had she done?

Bulma tried to recall everything that happened after she was walking back to her suite after lunch.

She remembered being thrown into the nook in the walls by the King himself. There was plenty of kissing, enough touching to go around, but Bulma hadn't thought about where it might lead to... It was just fun, just some playing around.

But, here she was, naked and in the King's bed.

"Oh my..." How could she ever face her husband again? He wasn't the best of lovers -- of husbands either for that matter -- and she'd known that he'd had other women since they'd been wed... but was this the same? Did that make it alright, did it justify the fact that she had strayed into the arms of another man? Was it justifiable to say that she had just taken a lover like her husband had on multiple occasions, and could a King really be reduced to the term 'lover'?

She couldn't think about it at that moment.

Bulma didn't even want to think about how she'd face the King. Would it be awkward? Would he call her out if she disobeyed him, or worse, would he use this against her to do it again? Her arms and legs tingled from the night before – what all had they done? And of course how had they navigated themselves to his room of all places?

She felt around the floor for her clothes, noticing that the room was entirely clean, no speck of a man living there at all. But that wouldn't surprise her; he was a king, he had servants to clean for him. Her clothes were nowhere to be found. She looked around the room once more, this time glancing upon a silken robe at the end of the bed. It looked small, as if it was placed there just for her.

Bulma slid out of the bed, covering her nakedness with her hands even though the room was empty. The robe felt weightless on her shoulders, sliding beautifully over her bare skin. For that moment, Bulma forgot where she was as well as the situation she had gotten herself into.

Her clothes were no where in sight, Bulma noticed as she paced around. There seemed to be a bathroom right off the room, the door slightly ajar, but it didn't contain a scrap of clothing either.

'Please don't tell me I have to do the walk of shame to my room in a robe as punishment for what I have done!'

And something she had done indeed. Bulma felt quite dirty, especially at the thought of the man that had pinned her to the wall by her neck touching her in places no man had been. The bathroom did look appetizing in her current state of dress – and emotions. Bulma decided that if she had to do the walk of shame, then she was going to be clean when she did it.

The bathroom was needless to say very large, bigger than any of theirs at home, but then again they were a smaller Kingdom with less taste and need for the regal. Did it surprise her that the water in the tub was warm as soon as it came from the faucet, or many oils were set along the tiled rim – including many different varieties and scents – not really. The queen figured that she would indulge a bit.

Bulma lay herself in the water and closed her eyes, but there were no restful thoughts. Whenever she blinked, images of what she could remember of the night before came flooding back to her. Of course, she was starting to envision exactly what had happened as the vestiges of sleep arose from her conscious. She had to keep her hands and her mind busy.

Bulma rubbed herself clean, even visiting the lower parts of her body to take extra care that there were no ruminants of that night left. But neither the spray of the faucet, nor the scrubbing or wonderful scents, could possibly remove the smell of his kisses and the feeling of his lips throughout her entire body. When she finally washed up and removed herself from the tub, Bulma felt warm but definitely not clean by any means. 'Hmm. It must be about lunchtime by now. I should definitely be getting back to my suite to clean up and find some food; I'm starving!'

She left the bathroom, clad in one of the fluffy towels, and stared about the sunlit bedroom. It was extravagant – a beautiful blue overlooking the sea, just like her room. She stopped to admire the vision for a moment before turning to find any scrap of clothing she could use. But Bulma stopped short. Her blue eyes rested on a small pile of clothes laying upon the bed – which was made.

'Were the maids in here? I heard nothing while I was in the bath, but I know these weren't here and the bed wasn't this neat when I went in, so someone had to have come in…' Her hand rubbed on the fabric. These were definitely not her clothes, but they would most surely do (and cover) much more than the short robe could have.

She dressed; the dress suited her – a pale white number, silky, strapped, knee-length skirt. Apparently, unlike other Kingdoms, these Sayjins weren't too concerned with covering much skin, which was obscurely obvious by how all the warriors (including women) dressed. But would even her husband find it odd that she was dressing in this manor, that she spent the night away from the room? Where had she slept, he might ask?

Or maybe not; he might have barely noticed, if at all. He was too involved in the politics of this treaty, and the activities that foreign diplomats would be involved in while they were staying abroad.

She stepped out of the room, her sandals tapping on the marble floor. She almost didn't want to run into anyone, as if they'd be able to tell what she'd done the previous night by just looking at her. She had taken a long bath, but it still seemed as if Vegeta was all over her. Bulma couldn't help but sigh in the deserted hallway. Could she even talk to someone about this? Was there some law that decreed that you weren't allowed to sleep with the King even though he seduced you in the hallway, or was there just some large possibility of it getting back to her husband?

Oh, yeah, sore subject. Not that she was complaining about her time with Vegeta, but Bulma rather wished it hadn't happened. Atrono was by no means faithful to her, but what was the plan of action if the Queen was found cheating?

Maybe he'd get a sense of humor and state that this was exactly the inter-planet bonding that they needed to renew this peace treaty...

Or maybe not...

Whilst she labor around her head searching for something to justify her acts in indiscretion, Bulma suddenly and literally ran into the largest man she'd seen on this planet yet. He was huge, he was bulky, and when he turned around he looked a little less than friendly.

His bald head reflected the lights overhead, but it was his mounds of muscle on top of muscle that told her he hadn't lost it from old age... Did he at one point have hair?

"Who the hell are you?" Bulma was taken aback by his tone with her, but then again she wasn't exactly dressed like the royalty she was. "You came from the King's chamber, must be Vegeta-san's current whore." And just like that, he turned and walked away.

Bulma was struck with shock. In less than twenty words, she had been degraded by a man she knew nothing about, and mind you he knew nothing about her... as if she wasn't feeling low enough already. He just carefully assumed that she was nothing but a prostitute? No, not even that. At least prostitutes got paid, apparently she was doing it for royal kicks.

She slammed into her quarters like a bat out of hell. Who did the people on this planet think they were.

"Stupid sayjins..." Grabbing people by their throats, molesting people when there was only a door panel between them and their spouse, calling people names and such... and worst of all, seducing married women. She was getting out of these clothes and burning them. Maybe the feel of her own fabric on her skin would be a little more familiar and hopefully more comforting.

Well, Bulma vowed that she wouldn't be shown up, she would show that the previous night had meant nothing to her and done nothing for her... though it was amazing. Sex could be wonderful... not the five minutes 'sex' with her husband that she'd usually spend going over economics in her head while he pathetically thrust into her.

--

That evening, at dinner, Bulma stared either ahead, at her plate, or pretended to be interested in something boring that was being said across the table. But she refused to look at the King. He, however, was a little less interested in the happenings around him and had no reservations about staring at her blatantly over their food.

He was angry that she wasn't even giving him the time of day, even after their... meeting... the night before. He thought she'd be all over him after that. Staring at him with these 'take me' eyes from across the room, and waiting to jump his bones.

What pleasure it would be when he told her that he wasn't interested, setting her back on the ground. He was the King, he controlled when they would be intimate.

_'But she's not doing any of that! She should be bowing at my feet for all that happened last night; so why is she not even acknowledging me at all?'_ Vegeta was infuriated. This woman wasn't breaking or bending to his will like she was supposed to. _'Well, some more persuasion must be in order... but this one, no matter how strong, will learn her place before she leaves my Kingdom.'_

Bulma glanced over at him... she didn't like that look; she didn't like it one bit. There was a certain perversion to it, like he was undressing her right then and there with his eyes.

"Excuse me, my Lord. I'm going to retire. I don't really feel well." She turned to her husband, who nodded at her request. She looked at Vegeta and then back at Atrono. "I'll just see you in bed then, darling?" She brushed his hair back from his ear, intending to put on quite a show for the other King in the room. He thought he was going to persuade her into his bed again... but he was mistaken, and Bulma was going to make sure he knew that.

--

While she had no intention of having sex with her husband that night, the look on Vegeta's face was enough to make up for the face her husband had given her... some kind of burning look meant to turn her on, she assumed. But, alas, her sexual needs for the millennium had been satiated the night before and she wasn't intending on being 'that woman' who had an affair and had no reservations about running back into the arms of her husband the next evening.

She guessed that there had to be some excuse she could come up with that would not require her going back to her room for the next few hours , and there were only a few places that she could think of. There were the sports courts outside, but Bulma wasn't exactly the sportsmanlike type.. and being alone on the courts left her vulnerable to nightly seduction. And there was ChiChi's room; but Bulma deemed that it was still dinner time and if she were ChiChi -- with that hunk of sayjin she had for a husband -- any time alone would be cherished.

She wasn't going to interrupt just in case something was going on.

But then, what else was there to do? From one of the pockets in the folds on her gown, she fished out the map Vegeta had slid underneath her door. Though she'd like to assume that she knew the layout of the place quite well from her exploring, Bulma had decided not to leave it behind just in case. That way, she wouldn't be walking about, not knowing where she was, and then risk running into the King who'd walk her back and kiss her senseless while her horny husband was waiting on the other side of the door. He was likely to

That was just a plain bad situation to put herself into.

But where to go? On the map she saw a library, a science lab, some kind of restricted development area that she wasn't intending to stick her nose into, training area (heck no, not in this dress), and... that was about it... Not too many choices, though the lab and the library both sounded promising.

And then the thought hit her.

Vegeta didn't seem the type to read any sort of books, not that thick-headed buffoon. He probably wouldn't even think to look in the library for her... should he come to find her, of course. She shouldn't think so highly of herself as to assume that he would come back for more, but knowing what she'd seen of his personality he'd definitely be back to try and humiliate her or use her.

She walked her path to the library, across the entire palace from the dining hall, which was how she wanted it. Bulma was putting space between Vegeta and herself, partially because she didn't want him to find her, but as well, she was attracted to him on some level. And most of all, she didn't want to make it easy for herself to fall back into his eyes... or his bed.

--

Upon entering the library, Bulma smelled the stale scent of books, relaxing. She figured that she was alone in this sanctum, and she couldn't help but turn her head and run her fingers along the bindings of the books, just thinking to herself.

Vegeta was so complicated. And at the time he seemed like the simple males that she was used to. She kind of liked it.

"Are you a fan of books, Miss?" Bulma turned about, startled. A young man, about her age, sat in the window sill high above her. "I'm sorry to have startled you, but I was just gazing out the window and heard you come in. No one ever comes in this place. I'm Yamcha."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Bulma. I just wanted to get some peace and maybe catch up on my reading." In all truthfulness, she hadn't thought about getting a novel. As brainy as Bulma thought herself to be, this planet was too distracting to pick up a hobby. "Really I'm just here to get away. This place is starting to drive me nuts. I miss the security of my home."

"I know what you mean." Bulma looked at him questioningly. "What you said about missing your home, I mean. I'm not from this planet, mine was destroyed. I came here with a lot of the survivors and was a refugee, until I decided to make this my home. Guess I failed on that last part, though. I do reminisce about it."

They'd struck up conversation, and soon Yamcha had come down from the windowsill to join Bulma. He told her about his home, the same place Chichi called home before it was gone. She asked how he'd adjusted to the planet and the King. It turned out to be a good place to have spent the day; Vegeta wouldn't think to look for her here.

Or maybe not...

Vegeta walked around one of the bookcases to spy her and Yamcha talking it out. A shock of jealously ran through his spine that she was paying attention to him so willingly. Not that he didn't get such company, but most the time he had to 'coerce' her into such affections before she was so compliant; maybe he just wasn't using the right tactics.

"If you're going to keep leaving meals early, you might actually be ill now and then." Bulma and her companion turned their attention to the royalty in the room. "Woman, I demand to speak with you now." She smiled, sadistically, and walked over towards him.

"You're in no position to demand anything from me. No matter what you say or do, I will not bend."

"Let's go, Bulma," Yamcha stood up from the chair. "You have things to do, don't you?" Bulma could see the fear in his eyes, see the vision of Vegeta firing ki blasts reflecting in Yamcha's eyes. Bulma noticed that while she had seen Vegeta be a bit harsh... she hadn't seen anything at all. That's why everyone wanted to stay out of his way. Diplomatically he was ruthless, sure, but nothing compared to how he was to his people...

"Go ahead, Yamcha. I will try to see you later." Bulma figured that Yamcha would probably say something stupid and get himself in trouble. The King obviously wanted to talk to her, and frankly, Bulma had a piece of her mind to give him. She watched as Yamcha exited the dusty room.

"What do you want? I'm tired of dealing with you, watching you watch me; I don't need this attention! I'm married, not to you, I'm married to King Atrono. He's sitting in the other room, I don't believe you've met. If you had, you wouldn't be all over me like this. Not if you had any respect for him.

Vegeta just looked at her like she needed to listen to herself. She gasped, "You don't have any respect for him, do you? Is that why you've forced my into your bed, teased me so much? If you don't have any respect for the man, then why are you continuing treaties with my planet?"

"I don't respect your husband, Woman, that is true. I am only continuing the treaty and peace with your planet because you're a neutral. And being on good terms with a neutral planet looks good the the Alliance. I am not yet ready to start taking over planets, but when I do, I will at least do it by surprise. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Bulma just curled her upper lip. "I guess so. It's not like I would expect anything different from the likes of you!" She had to storm out, run away. Tears thrashed at her eyes, fearing to pave an acidic trail down her cheeks. She was starting be grow accustomed to the man. Not really endearing, not really fond, but she feelings that he put through her body would eventually make her care for that man. And even though it hurt, she was glad he stopped them from evolving.

Vegeta just stood in the library. He'd said things that hurt her, things that were true, but he didn't want to drive her away from him just yet. The plans with Atrono were coming to a close, they would be leaving in a matter of days, and Vegeta wasn't ready for things to remain unsettled between him and his woman.

---

Bulma was just relaxing in a nice warm bath thinking about Yamcha. He was such a gentleman, so in touch and nice with other people. He was at least in th library, so he probably liked books; maybe this was someone she could connect with on this planet, like Chichi. He probably wasn't as much of an idiot as Vegeta had said he was.

Thank goodness they didn't have too much longer on this dreadful planet...

First of all, in three days, she had been seduced by the King of this planet, cheated on her husband with said man, made a friend [a good thing], holed herself in a library hiding from this King, and wound up staying the whole day talking to some guy she didn't really know [but could in all find herself spending the rest of her life with from the looks of it].

Once again, thanks goodness they were days away from leaving this place. Bulma realized that she had met so many people, integrated herself into a 'social circle' of people that she would never forget, but at the same time was wistful about going back to her own mundane, sex-less home planet to be free to breathe and let her guard down.

She took in a deep breath and sank all the way into the bubbly, warm water letting out her breath in slow gasps. She was deep in thought until she heard someone burst into the bathroom very loudly.

Her whole body flew out of the water, hands covering the most important parts, and looked at the intruder. To her surprise it was her husband, even though she wouldn't put it past Vegeta to come barging into her private quarters.

"What is so important that you have to interrupt me?" Her husband looked at her like she was ruining his dramatic entrance.

"Great news! The contracts are going very well with King Vegeta that we may have this wrapped up before the week is out!" Bulma smiled at the news; they would be out of there earlier than expected! "And the best part is that the King has been so generous as to invite us to stay longer as his guests – this way we can just relax in this luxurious palace. It's much shinier than our own!"

"Bu-but, don't we need to get back to attend to our own planet's dealings, dear?" She leaned across the tub and tried to give him her cutest face. Maybe this would work. She couldn't take that stupid King for too much longer. "I mean, there are so many things that we should get through... maybe get some things out of the way so we can pave the way for our heir?"

Atrono looked at her for a moment and his face lit up. "You mean... you're carrying my heir?!?" He was so easily pleased; but he had it all wrong. Bulma was thinking that the temptation of making an heir, to have sex and conceive, would be enough for him to pack up and get home. However, she wasn't pregnant and had not meant to put that idea in his head. "That's wonderful; I shall announce at dinner tonight, and we shall celebrate!" He turned on his heels and walked out of the room at once, not pausing to let her finish.

All Bulma could do was sit there in the water, grasp the edge of the tub with her worried, white fingers, and stutter a bit from her throat. "Oh, no..." She gasped. She wasn't pregnant, that she knew for sure. But when her King announced that she was tonight... what would Vegeta think? Would he believe it, not that he would have any reason not to. Would be think it was his? She couldn't tell.

But he'd certainly track her down and question her about it; of that she was sure.

She pulled the cord with her toes and let the water drain, not rising from the tub until the water was completely gone.

--

Dinner was as usual, the quiet talk and banter filling the blank spaces. She could feel the excitement in her husband next to her; he was eager for the right moment to tell everyone that he would soon have a successor. Bulma was dreading it. She kept glancing at Vegeta, who was usually staring back. He was probably taking the looks as a sign that she wanted him again... that his appearance in the library the night before was enough to make her come back to him.

The inevitable sound of a knife tapping lightly on a glass sounded through the dining hall. Vegeta's eyes (and everyone elses') moved to her husband. Bulma writhed underneath the sudden attention to her part of the table.

"If I may interject for a moment, fellow noblemen, I have an announcement to make. As you all know, I have brought with me my wife," he gestured to Bulma at which Vegeta's eyes bore into her skin and never left. "And just this morning, she informed me that I will soon have an heir, a successor to my throne! I am proud to announce that I will soon have a son." A small round of applause circled the room, of course all the noblemen would be proud that he was increasing his line. That's probably all they cared about.

Bulma risked a look at Vegeta, who had not taken his eyes from her face. They were unreadable, but she could guess he was trying to decide if it was his, if he should ask her, corner her and demand to know what was going on. She had to admit, Bulma wouldn't mind talking to him and setting things straight that she wasn't pregnant with his child, or anyone's actually.

Her husband sat down next to her and brushed his hand over her shoulders. He was trying to be possessive, obviously oblivious of the other King's attentions. She once again excused herself from the table and left the hall without looking at her husband or Vegeta or anyone else. This night was going horribly, she just wanted to go home!

She wished Vegeta had never kissed her!

But Bulma hadn't expected the King to follow her. Stopped in the hall outside the dining room, Vegeta's hands on her shoulders were oddly gentle, shocking her as she turned to look at him. His eyes were not as gentle, however, for they were questioning and demanding. Bulma didn't want to do this now, she tried to turn but his hands threw her into the wall.

"Careful, Vegeta, you'll hurt the non-existent baby."

"You deny what he said. Your husband announced you told him you were with child."

"I'm tired of your statements, and having to repeat myself multiple times. I'm not pregnant. He misunderstood something that I said. So you don't have to worry, it's not yours."

His grip loosened, and she walked down the hall.

But he was faster and followed her, throwing her again into one of those convenient nooks that were so strategically placed. She wasn't pregnant, he could be a little rough. Vegeta would admit that it was a relief to know that the hypothetical child was not his but also that she wasn't pregnant at all. "Then why do you run, Woman..."

"Vegeta, let me go." Struggling was no use, and everyone of importance was getting drunk in the dining hall, yelling rape wasn't going to do anything but get her in trouble with this man. "I just wished that I had never come here, met you, kissed you... I just- just wish that you hadn't shown me what a real man can do to arouse feelings in me that I've never experienced, but you have! I hate you; I hate that I like being around you!" The tears that had almost spilled the day before outside the library were coming down fast; Bulma turned her head to hide the weak expression from this sadist. Her voice was just a whisper among their breaths, "I just wish that we hadn't gotten so involved; when I leave, what will I do without you?"

Even as her face was turned away, looking at the cracks of the stone wall beside her, he raised his gentle voice ever so slightly and said, "I don't regret a thing." And Bulma fainted. Was it shock from hearing him say those words or was it just exhaustion from struggling with her lover, Vegeta didn't know. His eye twitched a bit at her cliché exit when he was just trying to be unusually affectionate, but nevertheless he picked up her limp body and strode down the empty corridors to his chambers.

--

Tsuyoku: Mumbles string of curse words. Arg, this took me too long to get finished, I know, but I've had a lot of free time and have now completely revised the outline for this fic. One part of me regrets going so slow, but I want to get a day by day interaction of Vegeta and Bulma exclusivly. The other part of me wants to involve more of the other characters in her life now, which I will. I'm anxious because I've written one of the chapters when Trunks comes back years later – I've got the scenario in my head... we'll see how fast I go. In the mean time, read and review please. It helps me look how I'm doing and whether or not people are reading and should I bother to continue this story (which I love!). R&R, yay!


	4. Goodnight Kiss

Tsuyoku: I believe that this is the fastest I've gotten a chapter up in a long time! The people that reviewed helped me along a lot, so review again – I'm holding the completed chapter five hostage until I do, lol. Tell me what you think. I've got some more of the outline to write, but I pretty much have it completed up until after she goes home.

And no on to...

Tempt of Fate: Chapter Four

By now, Bulma was used to waking up in the King's bed, but she wasn't exactly used to waking up clothed. The sun did not shine on this morning... in fact, Bulma was surprised to find that it wasn't even morning yet.

She had remembered fainting, remembered arguing with Vegeta about things. Bulma hated that she was so in love with his touch... in love with the feelings that he aroused. She mused with a smile on her face that while she said she was sated for the next few years, Bulma couldn't help but continue to crave the release.

She rolled over and found herself looking at Vegeta He seemed to be sleeping, but Bulma knew much better than to think that. She rested her head onto her elbow and just enjoyed the feeling in her stomach that laying there with him gave her. It escalated and shot down lower when his eyes opened and he was immediately looking into her own.

She leaned in towards him, for once willing to give herself to him completely. Vegeta wrapped his arms around her in a swift, affectionate movement. His eyes, his hands, his lips all said, 'mine' when he held her in his grasp. She rolled on top of him, straddling his muscular legs, and leaned her head towards his. A kiss, light, was placed on his lips enticing familiar stings of tense, pleasure throughout their bodies. She wanted it again.

How could she crave these things, how was she able to live with herself after being in his bed and arms night after night? Simple; it was the connection. She was not alone anymore. For once there was someone in her life that cared about her as much as she cared about them. Well, maybe.

Bulma wasn't all too sure about how true Vegeta's feelings for her were, but at this point, it was nice to have someone that cared, and even if she was the only one that was in too deep, it was nice to lose her breath once in a while.

His hands peeled her clothes off, hers returning the favor, and for the first time in her entire life, someone made love to her like she was theirs completely. He was gentle but forceful, needing but giving. His tail slid along the side of her stomach as they met thrusts halfway.

Bulma new he had a tail, but he had never touched her with it. In turn, she brought her hand down from his shoulder to caress the fur and rub it along her silky skin. Vegeta felt waves of prickling pleasure ripple down his spine, and his hand grabbed hers from his tail and raised to above her head. His lips nipped bruises down her torso in the midst of the thrusts, and Bulma felt the tail wrap around her waist drawing her closer as both their peaks were beginning to be met.

After the fact, Vegeta lay along side Bulma, her breathing even and soft as her back was pulled flush up against his chest. His tail pulled tighter on her stomach and his lips caressed her neck as he gave into exhaustion as well.

Bulma didn't expect Vegeta to be there when she awoke, and she wasn't surprised that he'd already risen for the day. She grabbed the bedsheets around her as she looked for her clothes. They were always thrown into a different part of the room, and if the sex wasn't so good – well, nevermind.

'Last night was amazing. It's totally worth being here; I kind of don't want to leave.' She didn't let herself think on that too much as she lazily slipped into her clothes and out the door.

Bulma didn't expect Atrono to be in their room when she got back, but he was – and it wasn't quite the pleasant surprise. It was a good thing that she'd checked herself to make sure Vegeta hadn't left any visible bruises or hickeys, and he hadn't.

"And where have you been, Bulma?" A deep voice from a not-so-happy husband rose through the room as he towered above her with his arms crossed. Atrono hadn't gotten cross with her too many times in their marriage, but when he had it was something that Bulma made sure she got out of quickly. Thankfully, Bulma had thought of a good excuse when she and Vegeta had started sleeping together. She had felt very guilty and was jumping around every corner and in her room just knowing that she would be caught.

"I was at Chi Chi's. We were talking girl stuff; we were celebrating for the baby. I'm sorry I've stayed out so much lately, but even you said I should make some friends while we're here. And Chi Chi is just the girl.

--

Speaking of the girl, Bulma wanted to find Chi Chi and tell her about the current predicament. She found her walking towards the kitchen, but before Bulma could say anything Chi Chi pulled her over for some lunch in the garden.

Chi Chi and Bulma had walked around the grounds after eating and now found themselves having tea on a terrace off of Chi Chi's apartment. Living in the palace had been luxurious, but bland she'd said; so Chi Chi had taken it into herself to create a small garden, brighten up the outside some. And so Bulma settled herself into the sweet smell of these alien flowers and sip at her tea. "So, I hear your pregnant."

Bulma almost sprayed the tea she'd been about to swallow all over her companion. "I beg your pardon? How did you know that I was supposed to be pregnant?" Chi Chi gave her an odd look.

"Bulma, your husband announced it in the dining hall. Between the maids and servants, everyone knows." Her hand went to her chest, "wait, are you not? You said 'supposed to be' I'm so sorry if I'm spreading mistaken gossip."

"No, you aren't wrong. My husband did announce it; but he's the one that's mistaken. I was trying to lure him to going home. He told me that things were almost over with the paperwork for our new contract, but the King had invited us to stay for a while longer. And in a panic I said some things that he took the wrong way, and now he thinks I'm pregnant."

"Why didn't you correct him if he's wrong?"

"I don't know. When I said it, he looked so surprised and rushed out before I could say anything. And then he said that he was going to announce it and didn't ever really give me a chance to correct what I had said to him." Bulma slumped a little in her chair, looking slightly unladylike.

"Well, he may have taken it the wrong way, but how can you be totally sure you aren't pregnant?"

Bulma looked at the teacup in her hands, she kind of did want a child, but it wasn't going to happen. "It's about that time of the month, I think. I found some spotting this morning. I'm not." Chi Chi looked at Bulma.

"I know how you feel. Up until I had Gohan, I was so depressed that Goku and I hadn't had a child. But when I found out that I was pregnant, well, I was ecstatic. But Gohan is away training. They take your children away so young to get them ready... I miss him." Bulma was a little surprised. She'd talked to Chi Chi a lot since she'd been there, but Chi Chi hadn't mentioned that she had a son. Bulma decided not to press it – Chi Chi looked sad enough already that 'Gohan' wasn't there with her. And by the tears in her eyes, the subject was dropped.

"Chi Chi, there's something that I have to get off of my chest." Chi Chi stared at Bulma with a concerned look on her face. "You know Vegeta, right? Ah, what am I saying, of course you know Vegeta. He's the King."

"Stop stalling, Bulma. What is it?"

"Well, I sort of ... " she trailed off, but the next part came out as just a whisper, "I kind of slept with Vegeta."

"What, you're whispering!"

"I slept with Vegeta." Bulma thanked herself that she hadn't said that too loud, just enough for Chi Chi to hear. But she quickly placed a hand over Chi Chi's mouth to stop the exclamation that was about to come out of her mouth. She calmed down a bit for that.

"What do you mean you slept with him?" Her voice had taken to a whisper as well. "I know you don't love your husband, but is this really what you want? It happened once, right?" Bulma shook her head. "Twice?" She shook it again. "Multiple times? Wow, I really hadn't noticed that you and the King were hitting it off. But are you sure that you want to get yourself into this? Vegeta hasn't exactly been known as the pick of the litter when it comes to husbands."

"He's great in private. So different from any other time, or with anyone else. I just need to know that you won't hate me for it. I know that I won't be on this planet forever, but I want to make the most of it while I can." Bulma walked over to the railing of the terrace. Chi Chi stood and followed her there wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm here for you."

--

Bulma thought it was weird to actually stay for an entire dinner. She had stayed through the whole thing a few times since they'd been there – but recalling the previous few, Bulma could only think about her running away from the King and his stares.

But this dinner had been more comfortable. Vegeta knew she wasn't pregnant, he was calm and wasn't staring at her too much, and thankfully since it was announced she was pregnant Atrono had left her alone sexually. It was nice.

And now they were walking along the hallway, Bulma a few feet behind her husband like the first night. She found it a little humorous that she was following the orders – and she could see that Vegeta found it as well.

"I'm going to walk around a bit before I retire. I'll be there shortly, my Lord." Bulma left Atrono to walk to their suite while she wandered a bit further down the hallways and turned a few corners. She hadn't heard any noise, but Bulma knew that Vegeta was near.

It was confirmed when she was grabbed roughly by the elbow and placed between Vegeta's hard chest and the wall. He looked into her smirking face. "I knew you couldn't resist me being alone. All I want is a goodnight kiss." Vegeta lowered his lips towards hers, but at the last moment turned and attacked her neck.

He licked and sucked the soft, sensitive skin at her nape and crossed her collarbone to the other side. She tried to suppress her moan of approval, but failed. She bit the knuckle of her index finger to silence the sound as he attacked her with his mouth. Finally, after minutes of the torture, his lips dragged a trail up her jawline to her ready and waiting mouth.

"Tease," was all she could get out before he rammed his lips onto Bulma's and invaded her mouth with his tongue. He deepened the kiss by turning her head, lacing his fingers onto her scalp. She liked it when he was forceful.

When Bulma pushed against his chest, he let her breathe. "That's all for tonight, Vegeta. I've got to go back." His face said otherwise as a burning, lustful smirk took over his face. "No, I mean this. Atrono has found it weird that I'm never spending the night in our suite; I'm tired of his questioning glances when I see him, and I'm tired of lying. So, for tonight, I have to stay in there." Vegeta understood. He hated it, but he understood. The last thing he needed was for anyone – let alone her annoying husband – to find out about their trysts.

He lifted his body from hers and released her with one more smooth kiss. She pushed from the wall and walked down the hallways back to her bed.

Vegeta tracked her ki all the way to her room before heading to who knows where. He wasn't tired. That woman had a way of waking up so many things in him... He would never let her go.

But someone had witnessed the entire show... 'Why would Bulma be so involved with such a hateful man?'

--

The next afternoon, Bulma was sitting in her room working in a project that she had hoped to accomplish on this trip. 'I've been going at this thing for so long; I'm almost done. I had hoped to be finished by now, but I didn't expect so much distraction on this planet.'

Her hands seemed to be doing all the work, however, for Bulma's mind seemed to be miles away. She'd neglected thinking about the predicament that she was in. Her husband thought she was pregnant with his child – how was she supposed to fake that? 'Can I even fake it? But how can I tell him that I'm not?'

'Ah... He's the only one who doesn't know...' She found herself shaking her head. As long as they were on this planet, she'd keep up the charade. Atrono was finally leaving her to herself now that his work with her was done.

A knock at the door was what penetrated her thoughts. 'Who could that be?' She put her 'project' into the bag she'd kept it in. No matter who it was, she wouldn't let them know that she was working on such technology; they might get curious.

Bulma half expected Chi Chi to be there... but she was pleasantly surprised to find Yamcha standing at her door.

"Hi, Yamcha. What brings you to this end of the palace?" Yamcha walked past her into the suite. Bulma was suddenly glad she had put everything away.

"I saw something last night that was troubling, to say the least." They stood in the middle of the room, Yamcha's hand was resting on his hip. "I'm going to get to the point. Bulma, I saw you last night kissing King Vegeta. What's going on between you two?" Bulma flushed over her entire body; she hadn't thought anyone was around! Had he seen the whole thing? "I just can't believe that you would be involved with this guy after all we talked about in the library only three days ago! I mean, you were all about avoiding this guy because he's such a 'jackass' and now you're sleeping with him?"

Bulma flinched a little. So he _had_ seen it all; what was she going to do? How was she going to explain what she'd done when it was so hypocritical of her.

Wait! Why did she have to explain herself to this guy at all?

"I can't really say anything in my defense, Yamcha; in fact, I'm not even going to defend myself at all. I can't explain my actions, but they're justified in my mind."

"What are you saying, Bulma? Did he force you to do things with him?"

"Stop, Yamcha, just stop. He didn't force me to do anything; it was all willingly. I'm not perfect, and you can't put it in such a way that this won't be partially my fault."

"Why him, though? I understand what you said about not loving your husband, about not feeling loved or wanted. But I could be that man. I am a better man for you than him; I'll make you feel more loved than that selfish bastard ever could." He took her by the wrists and pushed her to the bed. Bulma squealed in surprise.

--

Outside, Goku was walking through the halls when he heard something from the room. "Get off me!" That was it, he was going in.

Goku burst into the room and found Yamcha on top of the visiting Queen, Bulma.

Bulma was struggling with him, and then suddenly he was laying limp upon her. His weight was crushing her ribs and she was loosing breath. When he was pulled off of her, she came face to face with Goku, Chi Chi's husband.

"Goku!" The saiyan looked at her. "Thank you. Bulma stood from the bed, looking at Yamcha's unconscious body on the floor.

"Bulma, what was he doing to you? Was he forcing himself on you?" What was with people assuming that everyone was forcing themselves on her?

"No, Goku. He was just talking to me about something, and then things got out of control. I don't really know what happened. But he wasn't going to ... rape me or anything. I don't think Yamcha has it in him to do that." Goku walked over and sat Bulma on the bed.

"Just relax for a bit. I'm sorry that it happened like this, but I have to take him to the dungeons for a while."

"No! He wasn't doing anything bad – he just... I don't know. Yamcha doesn't deserve to go to the dungeons. I won't tell."

Goku sighed, "It doesn't matter if you won't tell. The King will find out somehow. And when he discovers that Yamcha was on top of you it won't matter what he was doing." Bulma looked at him, confusion written on her face.

"Why do you say that?" Goku inclined his head towards her in a knowing face. "Oh... Chi Chi told you, huh?" Goku nodded.

"Yeah, Chi Chi's okay about keeping secrets, but not from me. She just has to tell me everything."

"Okay, Goku. You can take him to the dungeons, but don't let anything happen to him. He didn't hurt me – I don't want him to get hurt either. And you can't tell Chi Chi about this! Promise!" Goku crossed his heart, knowing that Chi Chi would figure he was hiding something and beat it out of him either way, but for all Bulma knew he would be secretive.

--

After Goku left, Bulma summoned a servant and asked him to tell her husband that she wouldn't be at dinner – she wasn't feeling well. Atrono didn't know about anything to do with women, he'd think it was something to do with the pregnancy.

She just stayed in her room all day: watching the rain fall from the gloomy sky out the window, reading, working in her projects, anything to keep her mind from wandering towards more important things like Yamcha and the non-existent baby.

Her phone had been ringing, knocks at her door sounded, but Bulma locked the door and retreated to one of the other sitting rooms in her suite. She didn't feel like dealing with Chi Chi, who she knew all the calls were from. No doubt that spineless Goku had let it all out when Chi Chi threatened to beat him... or maybe she did just beat it out of him. Bulma couldn't help but smile at that image. Nevertheless, Goku had probably thought Chi Chi should know to come keep Bulma company... but she didn't want to talk t anyone, to explain to them what happened.

Hell, she didn't know what happened: one minute they were standing, and the next they were on the bed. That was it.

She took a nap instead, just to shut her mind up. By the time her eyes opened, it was dark outside. Bulma supposed she had missed dinner by then. She realized a minute later that it was a knocking at the door that woke her up.

She threw the covers off, livid that someone was disturbing her. She'd given the cold shoulder to the world for the entire day, why was it still bothering her!

"Go away," she said to the door.

"I can't do that, Woman." Vegeta. It was the King at the door! Bulma hadn't really thought he'd come. She was ecstatic the he had.

She fixed her hair and robe on the way to the door. "I'll knock the door down, Woman. Let me in."

She opened the door, "There's no need for threats, Vegeta." He quickly walked in and shut the door. Before Bulma could say anything, he pushed her against the door giving her quick but powerful kiss. When he released her, she noticed he was looking all over her body. "What are you doing?"

"Did he do this to you?" A question! That's the first thing he'd ever asked her! Noticing he was waiting for an answer, she looked down and saw that he'd lifted up her shirt and was examining bruises over her stomach.

"No, Vegeta, you did." He smirked a little, knowing it was he who'd touched her. "Vegeta, he didn't do anything. I mean, he didn't mean anything that he did Just leave it alone." She walked towards the middle of the room, Vegeta in tow.

"He will be punished." Bulma raised her head towards him to say something, but he caught her jaw and stopped her. "No, I will make sure he knows not to touch what's mine. Ever."

The door opened, and lightning fast, Vegeta swiped his hand from Bulma's chin and stepped back. Atrono was standing there having come back from dinner.

"King Vegeta, what are you doing here?" For a moment, Bulma could see some suspicion in his eyes, but Bulma cleared her throat and tried to cover it up.

"He's here to congratulate you on the baby, and he wanted to talk to you about... the completion of the treaty!" Bulma looked from Atrono to Vegeta and back. Both of them looked a little confused. Vegeta even raised an eyebrow at her.

'That the best you can do, Woman' his eyes said. He turned from Bulma towards Atrono.

"Yes, let's take a walk, King Vegeta. I've been meaning to read over the small print footnotes that were at the bottom." He ushered Vegeta out the door. Bulma was left standing there with an open door, an empty room, and plenty of time to herself for a while – knowing how much Atrono was known to talk.

That night, however, Atrono made sure Bulma slept in their room.

--

Bulma mused to herself while she sat working on her projects in the garden on the palace grounds the next afternoon. She was starting to get used to being here. Sure, it wasn't as beautiful as her planet and it concentrated too much on fighting, but it was still a lovely place to stay for a while. She looked back on her conversation with Chi Chi when the woman had finally gotten a hold of her. She'd given her a real chew for not speaking to her earlier about the Yamcha fiasco.

"_I was worried, Bulma. Goku told me all about it, and said you were okay, but I wanted to hear from you. He said that Yamcha was on top of you and you were screaming!" Bulma giggled a little."Oh, I see this is funny to you, my worried nerves!"_

"_It's not that Chi Chi, I'm just happy that you cared so much; Yamcha didn't hurt me at all, it was just a misunderstanding. I'm not going to see him the rest of the time I'm here, of that I'm sure. Even if I wanted to, Vegeta wouldn't let him near me. I'm sure I have you to thank for that."_

_Chi Chi blushed, "Yes, I told Vegeta. I figured he was the only person you'd open the door for. No telling how long I knocked. I bet you let him in as soon as he said something. But I'm glad to know you're okay, Bulma."_

"_Me too."_

Bulma wasn't used to so much caring. There was only one girl on her planet that would care just as much as Chi Chi. She wondered how the young girl was doing without her there...

Chi Chi (and Vegeta) had both grown so much in her heart. She loved them both very dearly.

That was it! She loved them both: Chi Chi... and Vegeta! She had admitted it to herself finally. Bulma mused a little more that just one week, seven days, on this planet has shown her more love and drama than she's ever seen.

Was it even possible to find love in seven days? She was convinced thoroughly. When Bulma discovered this, she just had to go find Vegeta, to tell him these things. Who knows when Atrono would decided they were leaving, she had to tell him before they left!

Bulma rushed across the courtyards towards the castle, she clutched her notebook to her chest as to not loose it in her chase. She wanted to see Vegeta; she wanted to give him a look or something that would explain her feelings. Obviously since she was heading to the throne room, she couldn't just jump into his lap and announce that she was in love with him... but she could make sure that he knew that things in her life would never be the same since she met him.

Bulma slipped in the side door. There were certainly a lot of people in the path when you came in this entrance! She kneaded her way through the crowd and had almost reached the clearing when the sound of the large doors echoed through the large room.

Everyone looked. A young woman, about her own age it looked like, entered the room. She had an 'everybody look at me' expression on her face – and her body actions said the same thing. Her hair bounced, a lovely dark blue contrasting with her milky shoulders. Her green tank-top stretched over large breasts, and the short khakis and red ribbon she wore gave her that innocent yet man-eater look.

Bulma heard many mumblings through the crowd, "She's back" "It's her again" "What's she doing here?" "Not again. The Kingdom can't handle her again."

The hushed tones were enough to worry Bulma just the slightest. Who the hell was this woman, what had she done, and what was her relationship to Vegeta?

Reaching her destination – as close to the throne as decency would allow – she loudly said, "King Vegeta, it's always a _pleasure_." This woman had strode in, hips moving back and forth in a natural seduction, boobs bouncing. This woman put Bulma to shame in the 'sex-appeal' department. Her sway had been enough to distract the attention of the entire room to her approaching figure, and she was now so close to Vegeta. Again, Bulma started to get a little worried. Had she been wrong about Vegeta? Was he seeing multiple women, like _her_?

But Bulma saw the scowl that deepened on the King's face when he saw her. Bulma knew that he wouldn't scowl at someone that he liked; even he was slightly soft when he looked at Bulma.

The King's head was filled with thoughts of contempt. 'How dare she show up now, of all times. I thought I was done with this woman."

"_You've come back early, Launch."_

_--_

Tsuyoku: Well, I must apologize for a few things in this chapter. I'm sorry for making Yamcha out to be a little crazy – he wasn't going to rape her or anything, just overcome with the fact that he was better than Vegeta. I tried to get this about as long as chapter three, or even longer, so I'm happy with the length. Also, I have the next chapter written entirely, so I'm going to be working on chapter six (which is after she leaves), so if you want to find out what project Bulma's working on and why Launch (of all people) is here, then please review, I'd like a few more before I end this cliffhanger! Muahahaha! R&R please!


	5. Last Goodbye

Tempt of Fate: Chapter 5

Bulma's fight or flight reaction came up for some reason. One part of her wanted to fight the girl, she wanted to run towards the middle of the room and rip her hair out for getting close to Vegeta, but another part of her wanted to just run from the room to avoid seeing some interaction between the two of them that would just end up hurting herself.

But she stayed, unwillingly, for her feet were planted with curiosity.

Launch, as Vegeta had called her, just stood there for a while looking at Vegeta. "I may have come back a little ahead of schedule, but that should be a good thing. I have something that you want." Her hand slid seductively up her thigh, onto her stomach, gently gracing her breasts, and then reached inside her top.

'What is that whore doing, is she going to pull them out right here and now?' Bulma almost shouted something indecent, but she just wanted to see what the deal was, so she let events unfold.

Launch pulled out a small sphere from her cleavage; it was orange, with three small stars on it. Bulma almost gasped, but didn't want to draw attention to the fact that she knew what Launch was holding since everyone else was asking among them what it was. But Bulma knew.

It was what they called Dragonballs. And she knew because that was the project she was working on.

In her younger years, Bulma had encountered one of them and studied it very furiously. Once she'd found the substance it was made of, she was able to take notes. But then she was taken and given to the King, moved to a whole other part of the country on her planet, and she didn't know what happened to the Seven Star ball. But she'd found others.

In fact, she was in the process of making a tracking radar to find all of them. Rumor had it from various sources of tradesmen on her planet, there were seven of them. Get them all together, they'd said, and the Dragon would grant you any wish you could conceive. So far, Bulma was hiding the Four, the Six, and the Two Star balls in her possession.

Apparently she wasn't the only one out to get all of them. Launch was probably just hired to find all of the Dragonballs and bring them back, there was no other purpose for her here. But the way she was leaning, practically offering her body to Vegeta was a tell tale that this wasn't the entire story.

Vegeta could see what Launch was doing. It wasn't going to work. He wouldn't be seduced. And he knew that Bulma was in the room. She'd been in the room since before Launch had arrived, and he had the sinking feeling that she was going to tell him something – but was now watching the show.

Which was why he was openly displaying his disgust for the woman in front of him. Launch had a history on this planet, but Bulma didn't need to know about everything that the woman had done.

He reached out and took the Dragonball from her, careful not to brush skin, and studied it before slipping it into his person. "You're dismissed." Launch smirked. Bulma had seen that smirk before, it was exactly like Vegeta's. The mysterious woman turned on her delicate heel and glided her way out the side door, the entire congregation parting for her in the process. Even Bulma stepped aside for the girl. She didn't want to draw attention to herself and talk to the woman before she had more information.

After the woman closed the doors, Bulma felt his eyes on her. Of course he'd known she was there; her energy must always be a dead giveaway for him. She turned and met his eyes for moments, burning questions into them, before she turned and walked out the side doors as well.

--

Unbeknown to Bulma, Launch was waiting in the hallway on the other side of the doors, seemingly for her. She stepped away from the wall as soon as her eyes caught Bulma. "You, your name."

Hm, another thing like Vegeta, she didn't ask questions either. These two could be related.

She would have normally ignored the rude demands and walked away, but Bulma took the high road. "Bulma, not that I need to ask yours Launch."

" Good. I never need to introduce myself." Launch looked her over, and Bulma did the same, though she'd studied the woman pretty thoroughly in the other room, and still she found no flaws to this woman. "I hear you're causing quite the upset here at the castle." Bulma gave her a confused look. "You're... _trysts_ with the King won't last long. You have a husband, tramp, and you'll be leaving. You have absolutely no claim on him whatsoever. "

"And what makes this any of your business?" Bulma's violence mechanism was raging again for being called a tramp, though Bulma might have said the same thing if she was looking at herself.

" It's my business because of my past with Vegeta." Once again, Bulma gave her an odd look. "Ha, you didn't think you were the only one he'd slept with, did you? I guess he just has a _taste_ for blue hair." She gave Bulma a smug look and turned. Over her shoulder she cast, "I'll make sure he forgets about you as soon as you leave. Have no worries; you have you're own husband to attend to."

Bulma looked at her retreating form... she could smack that woman, tangle her hands into Launch's dark blue locks and slam her around the floor, bang the limp body into the walls, beat her and take away that annoyingly smooth voice, anything of the sort. But everything she said... was all true.

What was she expecting? She'd be gone in days, and Vegeta would move on. But Bulma wouldn't. You don't just forget love like that. And he'd-he'd slept with _her_... Bulma almost couldn't think of that. She'd already lost feeling in her limbs... _"You didn't think you were the only one he'd slept with, did you? I guess he just has a taste for blue hair." _

_--_

It was in that same position a half an hour later that her husband found her. People had come and gone, all tossing her odd looks for she was standing in the middle of the hallway looking at nothing in particular. Bulma would have slouched against the wall, but that would draw people to actually ask what was wrong, vs. if she just stood there, they'd think she was trying to decide if she wanted to eat before going back to her room, or something like that.

Atrono approached her, giving her a weird look like the others. "Are you alright, dear?" He wasn't as oblivious to her moods as she had originally thought, how nice. Bulma just nodded. She was trying to convince herself that going back to her home planet in a few days was going to be the best plan of action. Once she'd gotten back, Bulma knew she'd have plenty of things to keep her busy.

Getting things back in order and getting used to actually being home was one of them. And of course getting ready for the baby was another – wait. She wasn't pregnant.

Gosh, she'd heard it so many times repeated since it'd been announced. So many congratulations that were either empty or just didn't know they were for a fake baby and a fake marriage.

Finally she looked at her husband, who didn't seem convinced by her nod. He continued what he was going to say anyway. The news would probably cheer her up.

"Bulma I've decided that since you are pregnant, you're right. We should go home and get things ready for the heir that's coming. I can finally tell me people that they have nothing to worry about – that they will be in great hands when I am gone. Go pack dear. I've already informed the King. I'm going to have the ship ready and send someone in two hours – when preparations are done -- to get our things and escort you there. Aren't you excited to be going home?" Bulma couldn't breathe for minutes.

They were leaving.

After so many things had happened, they were leaving. In such a short time, she had fallen in love with another King, made new friends, grown accustomed to the walls, the climate, the smells. Everything. And now they were leaving.

And Bulma knew that they were not going to return any time soon. Why would they? It's not like Vegeta had made friends with her husband or anything; until another contract was due. Years.

She just nodded towards her husband once again and walked along the halls, forlorn, towards her room to pack. Atrono had to tell her right there in the hallway, didn't he? He had to break it to her when she was in the worst possible mood, the worst possible time.

Two hours? That was all. She stopped at Chi Chi's room on the way and asked her to accompany her to her room to pack. Chi Chi was aghast at the news, and they both walked silently down the halls.

--

Bulma could tell that Chi Chi was trying very hard to make conversation, to not let her last few hours be in silence, but it was strained. There were so many things that had gone on – how was she expected to say goodbye in such a small time?

Was she expected to say goodbye? To Chi Chi, yes of course. But Vegeta had been informed before she was, and he hadn't made an attempt to contact her in that time. Bulma wasn't sure she would see him if he did show up, but he hadn't even tried nevertheless.

"Bulma, I'm sorry." Chi Chi finally placed a stack of clothes into the luggage. Bulma had insisted that she be able to do this and had made the servants sent there to pack her things leave. It helped her not think. "I do know how it feels to be separated from your love. For the longest time, I knew that Goku and I were meant to be together, but it seemed impossible. And it hurt, it broke my heart again and again, every time I watched Vegeta-sei fade in the distance from the window of our ship."

Bulma strained her lips against her teeth, tears almost reaching their peak. "But you're married to him; you got your happy ending. I can't. With Vegeta and I, it's entirely impossible for us to ever be together. And that alone breaks my heart over and over again. So, you may know how it feels, but at the same time you have absolutely no idea to _know_ for sure." Chi Chi nodded and just turned back to the pile she was straightening. Bulma realized that she'd been cruel.

"I'm sorry, Chi Chi. I just can't help what I say." Her close friend turned as well and stood to wrap her arms around Bulma. That was what she needed. Tears let loose, and she was crying, letting it all out. But that was okay right now. Chi Chi's actions were saying 'I'm sorry' just as much as Bulma had voiced it.

Their little union was broken for a knock at the door. Bulma looked at the time on the wall. It had been maybe thirty minutes since she'd been told; surely no one was there to take her away so early!

Chi Chi walked through the clothes on the plush carpet to open the door while Bulma sat on the edge of the bed. Her friend, in the meantime, found herself face to face with the King.

--

Vegeta had heard the news. Atrono had let him know, then exited the side door where he knew Bulma was. He'd sensed her ki.

She'd been out there for a long time now, ever since Launch's ki had left. No doubt she'd been informed of their past, Vegeta could just hope that for these next few hours, Bulma would not think of that and would only think of him.

But he couldn't bring himself to see her just yet.

Vegeta didn't really want to give them too much time to talk – to say goodbye. Such partings had never been his strong point, not when his father died, nor his mother. And they would be just as hard with her.

The love of his life.

But even though there was still plenty of time, Vegeta finally opened his chamber doors and walked straight to her quarters. Any moments that she had left on this planet were to be spent with him – and only him...

--

"Your majesty." Chi Chi was a little surprised, she hadn't expected him to show so soon. But at the same time, she was very, fondly approving of his actions and looked straight at Bulma, whose head had risen at the words.

"I'll just – ahem – leave you two alone to say your goodbyes." Chi Chi lay a kiss on Bulma's forehead. "You'd better write." And she walked out, leaving the two lovers in straight silence.

"I didn't know if you were going to come," Bulma finally broke the ice.

"I couldn't stay away." Vegeta didn't care if he was being a bit too cheesy for his saiyan inheritance, he didn't care. He saw the tear streaks on her face. Cupping it in his hands, he took her lips in a passionate kiss, which told her in a smooth, wet language how much she meant to him.

Though he would never, ever admit it to anyone, Vegeta enjoyed the way she made him feel. And he was going to express that to her as he lay her down on to the bed. This time it wasn't just sex.

His fingers were gentle as they glided along her skin, his slow motions of their connected hips peaked as they met thrust after thrust, his tail tickled the skin of her waist as it wrapped around her body, breaths glittered the air as it prolonged the prelude to her departure for just the slightest of moments.

The moisture in the air was all evaporation from their join figures, laying and pulsing against the bed – writhing against each other.

It was the last goodbye. The last time both of them figured they'd be able to enjoy each other's body and mind. They reached a completion that clouded reality for a bittersweet moment before laying a blanket of cool air over both sweat covered bodies.

For the last time Vegeta made love to her and Bulma received it with the most willing of personalities.

--

Getting dressed seemed to be the hardest part. Both of them demanded that everything had been said and done – and now he would depart from the room without saying anything while she would get dressed and await the servants to escort her to their ship.

And they did just that.

Vegeta walked out with nothing but an unsaid goodbye on his lips and one last glance over his shoulder.

The walk to the hanger wasn't as gloomy as she had thought it might be. Maybe having that last goodbye with Vegeta had been what she needed to let go of this planet. She said it to Chi Chi, sent the goodbye to Goku, and expressed it mind, body, and soul to the only real lover and love that she had ever had.

Atrono placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her up the stairs and into a lounge for the trip. She sat in a seat across from him, looking out the window where she saw many technicians opening the port for their final departure.

Bulma thought she was okay; she had presumed the toughest part was over – but watching Vegeta's retreating form had been nothing compared to watching Vegeta-sei fade into the distance.

It was just as Chi Chi had expressed. It broke her heart to leave; she let out ragged breaths, sweat covered her brow and hands, and nothing could tear her eyes away from the window and the small star that the planet had soon become.

Luckily her husband hadn't been there to witness her breakdown, for again she was crying: she was a broken woman. Vegeta had broken her – just not in the way that he had wanted.

--

Three weeks later:

A hand shook her from her sleep, the vestiges of which were still remaining in her eyes until blinked away. Her hand instinctively went to her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling again.

"My lady, you've overslept again. You wanted to get up early again today. Maybe you're working yourself too hard." Bulma smiled at her young lady's maid. The girl was her shining star, and the only person who kept her sane these days. Looking at her calendar revealed once again that it had only been three weeks since they'd returned, but it had seemed like centuries. Lynna was the only person who kept her sane through the entire week.

But it was getting better. Bulma admitted that while her every waking thought seemed to be about missing life on Vegeta-sei, she'd managed to piddle through her days and finally finish the Dragonball radar showing the location of the other four she would need to collect.

But the radar didn't help her thoughts, for it showed two of those Dragonballs to be on Vegeta-sei... maybe that was a good excuse to travel back there once again!

But no – dangerous Bulma, she told herself.

Besides, Launch had probably moved herself into Vegeta's room anyways. A string of curse words finished the thought in her mind.

"Bulma, are you feeling well?" Lynna knew mostly about what had happened on the alien planet, which made it easier to express her feelings.

Finally, Bulma swung her legs out of the bed and stretched.

She had plenty of things to do today! Bulma got dressed and walked down the hall towards the main gathering room. Today, a member of the Planet Alliance was arriving to look at some of their technological advances, and Bulma was determined to give a good tour. But instead of meeting with the diplomat, she was met with a red flag.

"What do you mean my husband insists I stay in bed?" The poor page who was unfortunate enough to deliver such news to Bulma while in her current mood was now cowering a few feet away. His face pleaded to her to not take it out on him. "Well, I _insist_ to see my husband. And if you deny me entrance to my meeting rooms, here's a warning: I think I can take you." She smirked, resembling a person that plagued her mind – someone she wasn't going to think about anymore...

Bulma made her face calm again, noticing that she'd become rather irritable in the last few weeks. The page bowed and scampered off leaving her to greet the newly arrived diplomat. By the time the page had found her husband and convinced him to come talk to his wife and bring him back, Bulma was close to finishing the tour with the diplomat. Atrono appeared by her side, startling her.

"It's very nice to see you again, King Atrono." The nameless diplomat bowed in respect and asked about his well being. Hm, such courtesy was bestowed when her husband arrived, but she didn't receive such treatment? Bulma had a mind to kick his ass, but that would make things a little rocky between her and the Alliance: they weren't exactly the people to piss off, now were they?

"I've been well. Things have gone smoothly since our return from contract renewal with Vegeta-sei. And Bulma informed me month ago, while we were staying there, that she is carrying my heir now, so we are truly looking forward to his arrival." Congratulations were thrown out. Bulma rolled her eyes; stupid man, he always talked about he baby as his 'heir', never his child, which ticked her off. And it was always a boy – like he was going to disown it if it turned out to be a girl or something.

Bulma had to mentally slap herself... In the warm, sunshine filled main room of their palace, Bulma went frigid. Not even the warm color of the walls was enough to warm her. In her grief of leaving Vegeta-sei, Bulma had forgotten to inform Atrono that she was, in fact, not pregnant with his 'heir' as she had originally 'mentioned'.

But now he was telling it to a Planet Alliance diplomat! Everyone in that entire sector was going to think she was pregnant, and he'd announced it a month ago, Atrono had said – no telling how many people (including the entire kingdom) he'd told.

Shit.

Double Shit.

Did he say a month ago?

--

Bulma immediately excused herself and hurried (queen's don't run) to her room where she summoned Lynna.

"Yes, Bulma?"

"Can you recall my last monthly visit?" Bulma perched herself on the bed, but decided that she was too antsy to sit and paced the room instead. Of course, that's why Atrono wanted her in her room! He thought she was pregnant, and usually the queens were put on a strict schedule as to not put the baby in any danger... damn. Lynna placed her hand on her chin, then fiddled with a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Um, I can't remember. It was a while ago, though. I think it had to have been before you left for Vegeta-sei..." Lynna trailed off. "You didn't have one there did you?" Bulma shook her head. "Um, then I'd say you're husband's probably telling the truth when he says you're pregnant."

Bulma's eyes widened. "Lynna... are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Hmmm, that you got pregnant while you were on Vegeta-sei, and-"

"There's no way it could be my husband's child."

--

The King of Vegeta-sei was currently sitting in his throne bored out of his mind.

There were, for once, no known plots to overthrow him as ruler, the Dragonballs were being searched for, he had no business to attend to, and there were no visiting beauties around for him to torture...

Though Vegeta had to admit, on that last one, that as far as torturing and sexual molestation went, the Woman was the only one getting that certain attention from him.

So he sat there, oblivious to the turmoil that his lover was going through on her home planet...

And that's the way it would stay for now.

--

"Lynna! What the hell am I supposed to do? It's Vegeta's!" The young girl in from of her rushed to clamp her hand over Bulma's mouth.

"Bulma, don't scream so loud. We've got the whole kingdom fooled, don't want to ruin that while we've got it going." Bulma nodded; Lynna removed her hand. "Besides, the King swears by the kid as his 'heir', no one's going to assume otherwise. Does Vegeta look anything like Atrono?" Bulma smiled a bit. No, they were nothing alike.

Vegeta was handsome, dark eyes and hair, and very muscular. Atrono was a graying blond, handsome enough, and though he had some muscle, she would say he had a 'slight build' when standing next to someone like Vegeta. Bulma just shook her head violently 'No' to also get rid of Vegeta's image in her mind.

'Well, if the baby comes out with black hair and eyes, then I think you'll need to have some kind of explanation for that. But maybe it'll get some of your genes and even things out a bit. Then you can just butter your husband up until he loves it like his own." Bulma just sat there and contemplated the 'love it like his own' statement. Nah, not going to happen. "Plus, your husband might be right about the boy thing."

Bulma was confused, "The boy thing? Like the sex?"

"Yeah, I read a little on saiyans when you were leaving for Vegeta-sei, and it said that saiyans are sensitive in their tails (vulnerable to extreme pain and pleasure), they mate for life, and when they mate, the chance of the first child resulting being male is a very high percentile. So, you've mated with Vegeta and now you're probably going to pop out a bouncing baby boy." Lynna smiled. She'd read the whole book. :P

"I 'mated' with Vegeta? How did we 'mate'?"

"It's all in the sex. When a saiyan decides to choose a mate, they make it official. Did he wrap his tail around you when you were, well, in the moment?"

Bulma nodded, "Only the last two or three times we made love, yes."

"Well, that's pretty much the indicator there. You're mated."

"That shouldn't mean anything; he could just do that in the heat of the sex and not even notice."

Lynna smiled, she may be a few years younger than Bulma, but she was quite wise on these matters having lived in the castle for so long. "That's the really cool part; saiyans' tails have minds of their own! When a saiyan isn't directly controlling it, the tail acts on more primal instincts of the owner – without him realizing it. You follow?" Bulma had a dear in the headlights look.

"Let's just say that when Vegeta's tail wrapped around you, it meant that in his deep subconscious, he'd chosen you. And since he did that, it acts like a bond for you two."

Bulma slowly looked at her lap and creased her brow... "So Vegeta... you did love me just as much as I love you." She looked at Lynna, "I bet he's regretting it now."

"Doesn't matter. It's for life. No one can come between you two. -- But who am I preaching to? I only read a book – a large book, but one no less. I'm no scholar on saiyan culture, could be wrong."

Bulma secretly hoped not.

Later, Lynna left Bulma to her own devices, mostly to think about her current situation. So, Vegeta had come home with her in a way – a part of him.

--

Bulma sat in her floor and flipped through her dictionary and looked for the word 'mate':

_n. _1, a husband or wife. 2, a counterpart. _v.t._ 1, joins as a mate; marry; pair. 2, copulate

Damn. That seemed pretty permanent.

But he couldn't have meant to do that on purpose. This was really serious business! This was for life. If Vegeta did, then at the time he'd probably been in the throes and had no reservations. But what about now? Now that she had left, Bulma wondered, would he still claim her as a mate as he did before? He hadn't even mentioned it, so she probably wasn't supposed to know about it or what it meant.

But no matter what he thought about her now that she had left, Bulma had a piece of Vegeta with her now, she could be satisfied with that.

So, how would she cover up the fact that it wasn't her husband's child? Well, like Lynna said, she could be lucky and it would get some of her genes; that'd be nice.

Across the room, Bulma's Dragonball radar began to beep very furiously. She turned to the small capsule in her bureau and enlarged it's size to make sure her three Dragonballs were still in place: they were.

Then what did it mean?

Bulma crossed the room and grabbed the radar. Her eyes widened in curiosity as Vegeta-sei's location now had three of the Dragonballs.

_So soon._

There was only one stray left now, and then they'd be fighting each other for them. As much as she wanted to avoid that planet for her own mental safety right now, Bulma realized that she might have to return sooner than she thought to collect them.

I didn't matter what kind of man Vegeta was with her, he was power hungry – no telling what he'd wish for if he managed to get all of them.

And Bulma just hated Launch.

--

Tsuyoku: **Mumbles more cuss words** I love you my dear readers, but please do not review and say anything against how I explained the 'mating' portion, nor anything against this part of the story. I get a premonition that someone will ask why I did it this way or complain that this isn't how it works. Fine, you'd have written it different, whatever. I just wanted something different than the biting... if Vegeta bit her, don't you think Bulma's husband would have some questions? Also I want to give credit to Webster's Dictionary for the lovely definition used above; I tried to write it out correctly and use the definition to shape Bulma's epiphany. As far as Launch goes, I thought it might be complicated enough to include Launch, let alone take on that odd personality switch she goes through in the Dragonball series. So I met myself halfway and combined her normal looks with the attitude of the other personality. Long footnote, huh? Read and review... even I want to see what chapter six is going! R&R!


	6. Bound to Return

Tsuyoku's Rabbit (who strangely has a British accent): I'm very sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up, for it is entirely my fault. I did, in a moment of delight in hopping about her living room, chew up the adapter cord to her laptop -- making it impossible to type out her fictions on the computer until she could purchase another one. Therefore, please forgive her for this being so delayed. Just review.

**off in the distance** 'Was that what I was supposed to say?'

Tsuyoku: Yeah, just about it. These delays suck when you have no computer to type your fics on, a blurry mind to think with, and a broken external hard drive, which just happens to have your, ahem, entire life on it. *raises pom pom* Yay me. Onto the good stuff.

Tempt of Fate: Chapter Six

_Temptation is fun, giving in is even better._

**Some time had passed...**

Six years... It had been six _years_.

Bulma was sitting in her garden on top of the palace musing to herself and watching her son, Trunks, play with his many pets. He ran about, laughing and carefree as his mother observed him. He was growing up – six years old – and so energetic.

Atrono had long been in failing health, which was apparent to most of his close personnel, but of course he refused to stop and take a breath from his daily tasks. Bulma had to say that she'd never seen him like this – putting so much work into managing his countries and practicing diplomacy like an art form. She figured that it was his long-drawn sickness that gave him such inspiration.

He probably thought he wasn't going to be around much longer, but he'd been sick for months now, and Bulma didn't see him going anywhere so soon. She figured the man would be there to taunt her of this horrible marriage till they were old and gray, and with her luck... well, she didn't finish that thought.

Atrono, although he was drowning himself in his work, was also taking time with Trunks and treating him more and more like a son. Why the sudden change, why was he actually caring about the child he'd be referring to as his 'heir' (and nothing else) so suddenly? Bulma figured that he had seen the determination and skill the boy had for not only diplomacy but also the serious combat skills Trunks had easily presented on numerous occasions.

Atrono had seen this and announced that apparently Trunks had quite taken after his father, as he stood so egotistically. It made Bulma furious that Atrono would recognize Trunks as 'his son' under such circumstances. When he'd said that, Bulma remembered silently adding, '_Trunks does indeed take after his father... the real one_.' as she looked anywhere but her husband's features.

And Bulma didn't even want to think about just _how much_ he took after his father. She shivered remembering what had happened concerning his... well Trunks had a tail, which was something that Bulma hadn't expected. She probably should have considered it an option much earlier than she had. A few days before Bulma had gone into labor with the child, she had been sitting in her lady's room at the vanity just thinking about the baby that would soon be there... about the father that gave her such a blessing, which then began her thoughts about their trysts before she left. This led into he whole mating thing, blah blah blah, and suddenly it all clicked and Lynna was summoned by a less than ladylike yell at Bulma's sudden heart-stopping thought process.

"_Lynna, what are we going to do? The child is going to come out with a tail!,_ " Bulma had been freaking out, pacing around the room when she should have been on bed rest days ago.

"_It's alright... maybe he won't even have a tail when he comes out; I mean, he is only half-saiyan._ " Lynna sat Bulma down on the chair again and stared into her eyes.

_She had an idea._

_It was the most genius plan that they could have come up with in that situation. Lynna was going to be the midwife all along as was planned, so there was perfect secrecy in that. And they were certain beyond a doubt that Atrono would only take the newborn child and present it to the gathering nobles outside the palace and then return him immediately to his mother._

_Bulma remembered that day; both Lynna and she were so nervous that they would somehow slip up, but when Trunks came out, he was cleaned and bundled tightly so the furry appendage was not going to suddenly stick out in front of the entire nation. _

_And a few days later, Bulma hired a discrete surgeon to pop the small thing off and then she fainted for a few days from pure exhaustion._

_No one ever said having an illegitimate child and trying to be secretive about it was going to be at all easy. _

_--_

So once again, Bulma found herself sitting in the garden thinking too much of everything: including the King of the saiyan race, Vegeta: Trunks' father. She'd slowly gotten past her separation from him during these few years. It had hurt so much at first, every day and hour. But the moment that Bulma had given birth to Trunks her life had changed so thoroughly and suddenly she realized that she was no longer alone. Vegeta, in a way, was with her.

And every time she looked at Trunks' face -- Bulma was so sure that it was Vegeta looking back at her – his features showed a striking likeness. But thank goodness Atrono had failed to notice it. In fact, when they arrived home from Vegeta-sei Atrono had pretty much forgotten all about the planet and it's King... except for once mentioning what an accommodating fellow that Vegeta could be.

Bulma stood from her chair, gathering her dress up to not drag on the grass, and walked over to Trunks. She ruffled his hair with her hand, earning a groan from her bearing.

"Ugh, Mom! Don't do that. I'm way too old for this!" Bulma had always been quite amazed at Trunks' ability to speak so well from a young age... much like his father who always had something to say.

She removed her hand from the strands of his purple hair, once again reveling in the odd genetic blend of her blue and Vegeta's onyx hair. If Trunks had somehow taken after his father in that aspect too, Bulma would have be frightened of a possible Vegeta clone... or maybe being discovered.

"Did you practice today, Trunks?" She turned back towards the youth on her way down to the castle.

"I'm waiting for Tulis to come by."

"You don't have training today, why is Tulis coming?" Trunks smirked a bit, showing Bulma just how much like his father he really was. "You told him to come again today? Trunks, my dear, are you becoming a bit obsessive or what?"

"I have to do this; I have to show that weakling that I am much more of a fighter than he ever was," Trunks crossed his hands in front of him and scowled at nothing in particular.

"What weakling? Who are you talking about, honey?" Bulma crossed back over to her son. She'd never heard him talk like that, it was all too familiar...

"That wannabe king, Atrono."

--

Since he was able to walk, Bulma had decided to train Trunks' mind to be as intelligent and quick witted as his mother -- learning math, science, all kinds of foreign languages, etc -- but she'd also introduced him to any kind of fighting that she could. Bulma had first taught him all she knew about the subject (which wasn't much), and when her techniques fell short, she hired someone who could pick up where she left off.

The fighting instinct was in his genes, and Bulma knew that if she didn't teach Trunks to control his anger and discipline him in that area, he could become well out of control if it became a problem later in life. But as Trunks was taught the martial arts, Bulma found it more and more appealing to finally start learning for herself. So she watched his training sessions (when allowed) to monitor Trunks' progress and picked up on some of it herself. You never know when you might have to defend yourself, especially when looking for something as delicate and sought after as the Dragonballs.

Bulma just stared at Trunks.

"What are you saying?" Trunks finally looked up at her, the scowl still apparent on his young face.

"I'm talking about your husband, Atrono. A weakling, he is. Acting like my father, saying I got all my good qualities from him," her son scoffed.

"Don't talk about your father like that," Bulma pulled Trunks over to the bench that she was just sitting on. "He may have just started treating you like a son recently, but that doesn't mean you can go about spouting things like this. Show him some respect. I can tell you without a doubt that you are a King's son."

"Why should I respect him? Even you display any kind of courtesy, Mom. I know I'm not his son, and I'm perfectly fine with that." Trunks lifted off of the bench and crossed the garden to the courtyard. "I'm going to wait out here for Tulis; I'll see you later!" His former mood seemed to have evaporated, but it left a cold chill down Bulma's spine.

He knew.

How in seven hells did Trunks know that Atrono wasn't his father?

Bulma stood and rushed towards the rooftop door.

--

The queen was normally concerned about maintaining a public image (it was good for business), but in this type of situation Bulma's formalities were left on the rooftop as she ran as fast as her dress would allow towards Lynna's quarters.

When she burst through the door, slightly out of breath (and now slightly chaffing), her gaze locked with Lynna's surprised features and asked, "What did you say to Trunks?" Her lady's maid and friend couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at the vagueness of Bulma's statement.

"Ummm, well, lately I've been going over the more well known folktales when he is in my charge." Lynna grabbed a lock of her curly hair and twirled it around her finger; Bulma didn't know if this was guilt's way of showing itself or if the young lady didn't know what she was talking about.

"I mean, I just talked to Trunks on the roof. He told me that he knew Atrono was not his real father and that he now had something to prove to the 'weakling'. Do you have any hand in this, because there are only three people that could have ever told him of his alien origins: I know I didn't, and I'm pretty sure a doctor that's been dead for a year hasn't slipped a few words... So I'm asking you what you've said to him." Bulma was even more out of breath, but not only that, she was borderline furious.

If Lynna had indeed said something to let Trunks 'in the know' about his parental situation, Bulma couldn't say she would be at all mad at the girl. But the plan had always been that unless it was a dire situation, Trunks had no longstanding reason to be told.

The girl on front of her squinted her features and stood from her lounge to walk about the room. "It seems I've been discovered. I'm so sorry Bulma, I never meant for him to find out."

"What did you say, how did he find out?"

"Well, I never actually said anything directly – but all those folktales and such that I've been telling him – he's so amused and fascinated by them that when I ran out of stories to tell I sort of told your story with Vegeta," Lynna bit her bottom lip.

"WHAT?!"

"Now don't get all riled up! I never included an sort of names. Just started with 'once upon a time' and made it a truly hypothetical fairy tale about a queen that found love (and a kid) in the arms of another."

Bulma blanched, "I don't think that a child of six years needs to hear such an adulterous fable in the first place."

"But if he knows, Bulma, then he's probably just taken this story and used it as an escape from a father that he has a disconnected relationship with. So, he's kind of role playing in a way." Lynna and Bulma both audibly sighed at the possibility.

The queen finally relaxed a bit and ordered some celebratory drinks for the both of them.

--

"Why haven't you found more, _Launch_. There are at least seven Dragonballs that we know of. You found three very easily... Now, where are the rest." Vegeta punctuated every syllable of his words. It had been six years, and the only reason he kept Launch around was to track down all of these mysterious Dragonballs, a task of which she had so far failed.

"Lord Vegeta, certainly I found the first three simply, but they were hidden on planets, in caves and under seas... the other four, however, I believe to be in the possession of someone else. They are not broadcasting as much of a signal when concealed like this." Vegeta was not quite certain how Launch was finding the Dragonballs, but that was not what mattered. What was important was that she found all of them.

It had been at least six, maybe seven years ago that Launch had first introduced the idea of the Dragonballs to him. She had enticed him into her bed, he recalled, and after the fact she'd kept him from fleeing the room only by telling him of these mysterious balls that had the power to grant _any_ wish that the possessor wanted.

_Anything. Just to imagine that was enough to send shivers down his spine and to excite in him something so raw and passionate – a feeling he hadn't felt since Bulma had been there._

_One week and she'd upset his life._

_He knew, as well as the whole kingdom, that Vegeta had become more cruel with the absence of this woman. The population inside this palace had known of their passionate battle of wits and encounters of the most intimate actions. What Vegeta was hiding from them, was that he'd taken her as a mate._

_It had definitely not been intentional. If he'd had a choice, he would have forgone that part of their trysts and just let her be. But alas, his most primal instincts had gotten the better of him and finally realized that this was it – she was it. And if he'd let her go without his mark, then she would be free to live her life elsewhere... but now... Well, as his mate, she was bound to return. _

_Vegeta hadn't told her what had happened. It happened shortly before she'd left, in his chambers, and after they had reached their peaks and he'd nearly collapsed onto her, he looked down and saw his tail firmly wrapped around her – almost had a heart attack, mind you. _

_And in the end, even after that last goodbye, he hadn't decided to tell her. Bulma was leaving no matter what. To put something so massive and so delicate a situation onto her shoulders right before departure was not only cruel, but what if she hated him for it – hated him for deciding to keep her. That was the reason for his growing cruelty these past few years, a detail not unnoticed by his people._

_But they were a saiyan race, a warrior race, and that cruelty was now what fueled everything in the depths of their society. Training was more forceful, longer, harder, and the quest to reach the legendary was more fierce than ever. Apparently, the brief appearance of Bulma was the best thing that had ever happened to him. _

_But if, no, when she came back Vegeta couldn't say if the rest of the saiyan race would accept his counterpart as his queen. He would fight for her, battle that weakling of a husband for her, and make Bulma a part of his life forever. And when he finally reached that legendary status, no one would care that she wasn't saiyan._

_But if she wasn't even on this planet with him, then they hadn't even met the longest yard in their relationship yet. His hand motioned for Launch to leave the room. She knew what he wanted – he wanted the Dragonballs. But their signals weren't coming in clear!_

_--_

_Her partner was waiting for her in the doorway to the main hall. "Let's go." The two walked down the long hallways towards the hanger, both fuming from Vegeta's gall to put so much pressure on them. They had found three of them in such a short amount of time; that was talent! But the others... Eighteen wasn't able to read them._

_Once outside the industrial doors of the ship hanger, Launch turned to her android counterpart and asked the inevitable question, "Can you try to search again?" Eighteen nodded, and her expression turned sort of blank._

_She was the radar. Launch had found Eighteen beaten and left on some planet... thrown away like trash. But it wasn't enough to treat her human injuries; Launch had use a whole team of scientists from her home planet to save her. The blue haired woman had instilled a technology in Eighteen that had made the woman into a super-human machine, complete with a tracker for these Dragonballs Launch had heard of. Launch hadn't come up with the tracking device; she'd merely bought it off of a traveling merchant, who had originally told her the story of the Dragonballs._

_Eighteen sighed, "It's no use. I'm getting a light signal, but with this little information, I could only tell you that they are somewhere in the Del Quadrant, which is pretty large." _

"_But it's not that far away, in fact it's close... so it's definitely not out of range. So what's making these so hard to find?" Launch pushed open the doors and followed Eighteen through the open space into their ship._

_Things just hadn't gone right since that other blue haired girl had come to Vegeta-sei, Bulma, if she remembered correctly. Launch nestled into the cockpit of their vessel and started the on board computer while they waited for clearance._

"_Computer." The screen responded. "Search 'Atrono, Bulma' and display whatever searches you yield." A few seconds passed and a list of target links appeared. "Select results containing 'location'." And in a matter of seconds, Launch's sneaking suspicions were confirmed._

"_Eighteen, come in here," her friend passed through the entry door. "Look at these coordinates. They are right in the center of the Del Quadrant! There's something suspicious about that woman, Eighteen, and I think this warrants some investigating._

"_How about we pay my good ole friend a visit?"_

_Using their ship, it would be a few days before they reached Atrono's planet, but they were cleared for take off._

_--_

Later on that same day, Bulma had retired to her suite to go over some paperwork her husband was slacking in. But her mind was roaming still, as it had been all day, and Bulma just couldn't concentrate on her work. Her hand slowly sneaked into her robes and fished around for her prized possessions.

She looked around to make sure her surroundings were bare of servants or Lynna, then removed the radar from inside her dress next to the shrunken capsule that held all of her Dragonballs. She proudly looked at her location on the screen and noticed the four barely visible dots, for the capsule she hid them in was smothering the signal to any other possible radars out there... maybe Launch was using one.

Bulma had rescued the last stray one from space and was even closer to having them all. But all that was left were on Vegeta-sei, so she'd have to face that planet and her complicated history with it to overcome this hurdle, which meant seeing the proud ruler once more.

Was it even possible to return to Vegeta-sei and look for the Dragonballs while avoiding the King? Bulma assumed not. They were just as important to him as they were to herself, so she assumed that he either kept them secure in his personal quarters or on him at all times. This was just another conundrum to solve, a puzzle to piece together.

Her hand skimmed to the tele-phone display at the other end of the desk. She started it up and somehow located the connection code for Vegeta-sei.

Of course, it wasn't the king that she was calling... but Bulma had another ally on that planet that could possibly help her get in and out without being noticed.

After a grueling quarter hour of searching listings and scrolling through, Bulma finally selected what she thought was the right number and distorted her face in indecision as the tone started to ring. She waited, and waited, and just for the hell of it waited just a little bit more.

Bulma had just about enough, what was she going to ask Chi Chi? Help me steal the Dragonballs? Help me smuggle myself into your castle? Help me distract the king while I avoid him at all costs?

And at that moment, Chi Chi's face appeared on the screen slightly startled by Bulma's sudden call.

"Bulma?! Oh my goodness, it is! What a surprise, I'm so glad you called!"

"Chi Chi," Bulma just blurted it all out so she wouldn't lose nerve. "I need a favor – I need you to help me distract the king while I avoid him at all costs as I smuggle myself into your castle so you can help me steal the Dragonballs."

Chi Chi just raised an eyebrow, "What?"

By far, the dark headed woman was entirely ecstatic to hear from her dear friend after so long... but this was not what she expected. And even if she did somehow foresee her calling in the near future, it wouldn't be about coming to Vegeta-sei and _avoiding_ the King. "Why do you not want to see King Vegeta?"

"I just can't do it.. there are things that you do not know; there are many great things that I cannot tell you over the phone. I will be heading there shortly to retrieve some things of great importance, but I can't do it without your help. If you can arrange for something, anything, to keep him off palace grounds for a small period of time, I would be in total debt and will relay everything to you when I arrive."

All Chi Chi could do was nod... and think.

Well, what if I tried to get Goku to stir..."

And together they collaborated until something was set in stone.

Bulma was to leave within the next two days and inform Chi Chi when she was close.

_--_

Bulma considered herself very lucky to have a son and a good life and even to have loved as she had. She was happy and content...But of course she was living a lie at the same time. Married to a man that she didn't love, be secretly mated to another, have a son by the King... of another planet no less.

She bent down and gave her son a kiss; he was getting ready for bed in his chambers and Bulma just had to say goodnight to him before she left.

"Trunks, I'm going to another planet for a day, or two at the most, on some business. You must mind Lynna and make it to all your lessons on time, alright?"

"Mom, I may be a kid, but I'm not really a kid.. I'll be alright here; just go and have fun with Dad." Bulma had been about to turn and leave when Trunks had said something like that. When she turned, Trunks continued, "I know you're going to Vegeta-sei to find him, aren't you?"

Bulma gasped.

"How do you know that?!"

Trunks rose from the floor and went to his bookshelf, tugging at a large, creased book. He brought it over to Bulma, who soon recognized it as the book Lynna had read when Bulma was first leaving. "How did you get this...?"

"Lynna had fallen asleep when I was playing not too long ago. I poked around her bookshelves and found this, so I read most of it. And when she told me a story about a queen who fell in love with the king of a warrior race and had a kid, everything clicked. I understand, Mom, and I'm happy that I'm not related to your husband." He opened the heavy cover of the book as well. "Also, there's this," he turned page after page looking for something. "This is what convinced me."

Bulma stared at the page. It was a picture of Vegeta in the center, posed so nobly on his throne. Who would rebut what Trunks said when you compare the two in features. She scanned some of the adjoining pages. Wow, Vegeta's how old?

"Um, can I borrow this for my trip?" Trunks nodded. She said goodbye and left the room towards her ship with some light reading. It was time to learn about the culture that she'd somehow embedded herself so deeply within.

--

On the ship, finally settled in, she'd set the controls and as the auto pilot took over, the book splayed open in her lap. It opened, almost automatically, to the page with Vegeta's picture on it. She rubbed her fingers over his face, realizing that these past six years, she had only relied on her mental pictures. It was so nice to just have something to look at.

But just as well, she turned to the first few pages that began the entire story.

--

Tsuyoku: Hi again! It's been a while, but as my bunny said at the beginning, he chewed up my power cable, so I had a half dead laptop and that's why this one took a while to update. Also, in between the writing of the chapter, I rammed my head into a table (by accident, of course!!!) and got a concussion, so if there are a few spelling errors, please let them slide, but if by chance I have let a continuity error slip, please let me know, haha. Um, not sure if I really like this chapter too much right now. I really see this one as possibly being a 'filler chapter' if I may. It doesn't quite fit into the 'relationships of the past saga' that chapters 1-5 represent, so I consider this the seedling for the literal 'future' chapters. I guess it's also because I stressed so much about getting this out for you guys since I had some wonderful reviews come in! Thank you so much for your support... keep them coming! R&R!!!


	7. Say My Name

Tsuyoku: Wow, this is a heck of a chapter, a little complicated, but a ton of things happen. I would like to a) apologize for this chapter taking so long to get posted, college started back and things have happened, and 2) I wanted to dedicate this chapter to some very young ladies I know that recently lost their lives in a car accident, this is for you – and to the rest of you out there reading, please be safe.

Now on to the good stuff... :-)

Tempt of Fate Chapter: 7

Bulma stepped into the small stall and instantly felt the warmth of a scalding shower relieve a cold chill along her skin. The icy feeling had set in as she read page after page of the Vegeta-sei biography, turning each page with a vigor that surprised even her. Her hands thrust into her hair, letting the water cascade through the strands and give her a relaxed feeling that only a true shower could. Not that this was a true shower, she was in the bathing stall of her ship, which sailed along continuously on a red-eye trip towards the warrior planet.

She still couldn't shake the depression in her mind, which had set in as she learned new things about Vegeta's life. The Royal Family, it seemed, had it's share of scandal. Apparently Vegeta's mother had been unfaithful to his father and was executed along with her lover. The King Vegeta had never been the same after his wife was put to death, but it was necessary to make an example that betrayal of any kind was not acceptable on this planet. It hadn't really gone into detail about the previous King before, but Bulma suspected that he hadn't always been so cruel.

"Maybe the reason Vegeta-Sei's ways are so forceful and unmerciful now is because the former king had lost his love, the woman he had made his queen, and that was a hard blow... Could that be why Vegeta acts so inhuman sometimes?" Her mind wandered over the possibilities such effects could have on her love that Bulma hadn't noticed if she'd washed her hair or not.

A beeping suddenly knocked her out of the reverie, and she peeked her head out the stall. 'Shit,' it didn't matter if she'd washed or not, Bulma scrambled to turn the water off and hurriedly sprinted towards the control room still wrapped in a towel. 'Just as I thought, we're in range of Vegeta-sei. How did I let time get so away from me?' Bulma dressed in some pants and and a shirt with jacket – and that jacket had plenty of pockets.

After securing multiple capsules in the hidden areas of her clothes, Bulma felt she was prepared for this as much as she ever would. She pressed a few buttons on the monitor panel and Chi Chi's face appeared, a serious look on her face as she said, Are we all ready?h

Bulma only replied, I'm in range, please begin.h Chi Chi just nodded and the screen went blank. There was no time to talk when the King was involved... at least not when you were involved in technical treason against the King.

–

On the warrior planet, in a small room of the palace's living quarters, the black haired woman turned in her chair to her husband, Goku, let's do this.h

The responding man only nodded and exited towards the villages.

Chi Chi giggled; this was fun! But her smile slowly faded as she realized that she couldn't be so light hearted about this. If they were all discovered, if Vegeta knew Bulma was here to take the Dragonballs they would all be in major trouble, no matter what Vegeta felt for Bulma.

From what her friend had told her about these balls, Chi Chi figured that it would be a conflict of his love for his woman and his quest for total power – or whatever he'd wish for in th end.

But instead of worrying about it, her part was done here, so she rose from the chair and ran a bath... that had been easier than she'd thought!

–

Goku walked slowly down the hallway, he didn't want to bring attention to the fact that he was hurrying about. The tracking feature on his headset showed Bulma's ship just minutes from docking. That meant he needed the King out of the building and fast.

"Kruno, do you have an AP on the King?" He was in the throne room, as usual, which was right next to the docks. He'd notice her ki as soon as she exited the ship, if not before. "Go ahead and throw the stone."

It was done.

Of course, the people fighting weren't really going to be an uprising, they were just having some fun fighting each other. But the King didn't need to know about that. When he finally reached the throne room, Goku opened the door, attracting the attention of the King and all the other people that usually crowded the room.

"My Lord, we have a situation."

Just in time, for Bulma's ship was just pulling into the planet's orbit.

–

And so was the plan that allowed Bulma to get on the planet unnoticed. Sure, it seemed a little over the top, but she was taking every precaution. If Vegeta knew what she was up to, who knows what kinda shit would hit the fan?

Not to mention she wasn't exactly in the most secure of situations, emotionally at least. She had the man's child for heaven's sake! And Bulma didn't want to face him – how do you tell a man that, 'Hey! These past six years, I've been raising your son and haven't told you!'

Hell no.

This was a get in, get out situation that would ultimately save the world from whatever he was going to wish for.

But Bulma was really curious as to what that would actually be.

What would Vegeta wish for? She knew he'd wish for something, no one can resist that power. And what if she happened to run into him in her short trip here... would she have to tell him about their son, would there even be a choice? Bulma couldn't decide what was worse anymore: not seeing the love of her life or getting the chance to see him once again and having something so heavy on her conscience... it was a hard call.

Through clouded eyes filled with her own personal frustration, she watched as the ship docked and hoped that Vegeta was outside the palace doing something else at that moment. But a small part of her wanted him to be there; she wanted something to go wrong so that she'd walk out and there he'd be.

Bulma walked out and into the open docking area, not seeing Vegeta. She sighed knowingly, but immediately spotted a familiar face. "Yamcha?"

The long-haired man turned from the mechanism he was working with and saw her, eyes widening as he slowly wiped some oil off of his face. Yamcha walked slowly over to her and just stared, "You're back. What are you here for... oh, that's right. King Vegeta."

"Yamcha, I'm not here for that... I just need to pick up some things. I'm not even going to see him if I can help it; he won't even know I've been here."

"That's going to be a bit of a problem, Bulma. Even if you manage to avoid showing any kind of ki, you're still going to leave your sent around the palace. What are you going to do when he knows that you've been on this planet again? Because he's going to tear up the universe looking for you. You need to cover that up. I may not be Saiyan, but I can smell your scent from here," he nodded towards her hair, noticing she'd taken a shower recently. "Spray some perfume on or something – otherwise he's going to know."

"Yamcha," Bulma began. "After what happened between us... why are you even helping me?" Yamcha shook his head and smiled at her.

"Bulma, I'm sorry about things that happened in the past, but I still remember talking to you in that library that day and the short time we were friends. I wouldn't want to do anything to ruin that again." He nodded towards the double doors. "Now, go."

Bulma smirked and ran towards it, placing her hand inside a pocket and grabbing some scented spray.

–

As soon as Bulma hit through the double doors into the actual palace, she ran into a hard chest. Raising her eyes, she spotted a mane of the darkest hair she'd seen in a while. But while her heart raced as she thought it might be Vegeta, her mind cleared and she was staring into a pair of kind eyes: Goku.

"You scared me, what the heck are you just standing her for?"

The Saiyan smirked, "Sorry, Bulma. I just wanted to escort you to the King's wing, therefore if someone comes near, including the King, I will sense them and we can get out of site." Bulma looked at him for a moment. "I mean, if you're here, someone's going to see you and when it gets around the castle, Vegeta's going to know. So it's just best if only Chi Chi and I know about this."

Bulma could only nod and start walking down the hall alongside Goku. He asks about her health and planet, and they talk about nothing much in general. Goku doesn't seem to concentrated when he was talking about him and Chi Chi. After a while Goku stopped in the hallway and turned to the girl. "Call me crazy, but there's something really different about your ki than last time. I've been trying to figure out what's off about it, but you're signature has changed."

"What do you mean it's changed? I'm still me, I can't think of anything different..." Bulma figured where this was going, she just hoped that Goku was too dense to figure out just why it's changed.

"I guess it's just a different form... almost like Chi Chi's after she gave birth to Gohan and Got-"

"Don't say anything!"

Bulma's pleading eyes finally reached level with Goku's, who, even though being so dense, was aware completely of what she was confirming. Goku made no move to react in his normal manner; this was obviously something that she was being secretive about.

Bulma stood there, waiting for the inevitable outburst that would attract attention, but Goku just stood there, blinking and looking at her as if he knew somehow... did he?

But the Saiyan next to her just nodded and began walking along the hallway as if they'd never had the conversation. Once the two reached the King's wing, Bulma's heart had a tumble down into her stomach. Before her was the room that help so many memories... mostly good, some just saddened her. She saw a ghostly reflection of Vegeta trailing her through those same double doors years ago. Goku interjected by placing his hand on the small of her back to guide her, but then he removed it quickly as if he was somehow being watched by the man that possessed Bulma heart and soul.

As soon as Bulma walked into the doors, Goku paused. She turned back towards him and noticed he was very focused on the tracking device in the device he wore on his face. Something seemed to be wrong by the look in his eyes, but he just gave he a small smile and nod before turning to leave. "There's something that requires my attention. Be careful, Bulma. I hope you find what you're looking for. I'll still keep tabs on the King.h His hand waved over his head as he trotted off out of the hall.

Bulma just stood there – she felt so naked. Not literally, but she had no one to tell her if the King was coming or not. But she wasn't going to stand there pondering while time was slipping away. Vegeta would be done fighting in no time, with his strength, and she wasn't going to be in his room when he returned.

–

Vegeta had heard the words and simple explanation Goku had provided and decided that this was great way to let off some steam while he wasn't thinking about his life and his missing love.

On the way down there, he could already spot the group of people just throwing punches in the middle of the village. This part of the planet was not the best part to be in when you weren't very strong – he would never let anyone like Bulma down here, for fear that she would let someone take advantage of her.

In the midst of the punches and small ki blasts that were being thrown around, Vegeta noticed that these warriors weren't being serious about fighting – this was a fight for fun and games, but it couldn't have come at a better time. Nevertheless, for his current activities occupying his mind, the King was oblivious to the events taking place in the palace at that very moment.

But fun or not, Vegeta began to fight more seriously, getting into the moods and powering up as much as he could to see if anyone was going to be able to take him. But as his power level started to rise, Vegeta felt a the beginning of something new, a new level of power he'd never seen before, it was just in his reach.

'Could this be the legendary Saiyan that they speak of? Will I reach it?' His thoughts, just as his power level, were on the border, however, just enough that they wouldn't be able to reach their goal.

About that time, the fighting stopped and everyone that didn't need a regeneration tank headed to on of the bars and pubs to drink and celebrate that their fighting success. Vegeta, instead, wanted to return the castle to think about what just happened.

Had he almost gotten there? To that infinite power?

–

Bulma was currently working at the lock on the safe. Something this old was no match for her technology, and she got into the metal box in the wall easily. Vegeta probably hadn't noticed, but Bulma had seen the safe once before Vegeta had hidden it. They'd been in this very room, making love not an hour before that. Once again her head turned to Vegeta's bed, a bed she knew well, and the Queen allowed herself to reminisce.

Oh she wanted to dive into those covers and smell the scents like she did long ago. If only you could bottle Vegeta, she would spray that on her pillows and never come up for air.

But she was afraid of what else she would smell. Would Launch's flowery scent be mixed in there as well?

Her hands clicked the safe open and she soon was staring into the current object of Bulma's desire; The Dragonballs: the three, seven, and five balls were in there. They would soon join the ranks with the others in her capsule and then she would decide what to do with them later.

She stood there for one more second just looking at the alluring shine of the ball's mysterious materials. Bulma hesitated... she couldn't believe what she was doing. 'Vegeta's mother betrayed her husband and her son, how can I betray Vegeta just as I am now?

Her hand hovered over the Dragonballs. It's now or never.h Bulma grabbed the three spheres before she could think otherwise and placed them in with the rest. When they were all laying next to each other, in order, Bulma felt a surge of something.

Now, Bulma didn't really have a sense for power levels or anything – she never knew what people were talking about when they sensed someone's ki – that was all beyond her. But when she placed the seven balls together, even Bulma felt something so strong in her senses that she wasn't able to explain it.

She did know that for her to be able to sense it, it had to be strong to every Saiyan on this planet, so she hurried to close the capsule and secure the small device into her innermost pocket before shutting the safe like no one had opened it at all. At last she turned to leave but thought the best of it.

She had shut the safe and left the space exactly like she left it – of course only missing the three Dragonballs, but what about her scent? Bulma did her best to neutralized the air, expecting that she would not be able to cover her scent at all. Thanks to Yamcha's comment about it, Bulma had thought better of leaving any trace that she had been there, and it seemed to be working.

–

"DS-549 Sub-Diplomat Ship, Vegeta-Sei – requesting clear to dock, I repeat: DS-549 Sub-Diplomat Ship, Vegeta-Sei."

A fuzzy voice came over the communicator in the native language, DS-549, you're given clear. Please disengage all shields and surrender pilot chips until departure."

"10-4." Launch looked at her co-pilot, Eighteen, turning off her communicator and smiled, "We're in."

Their plan was to scour the city and get closer and closer to the palace. Once near enough to let themselves inside, the two would concentrate on finding that blasted woman and get the Dragonballs she possessed.

After the docking process, and of course getting through the gates (by giving up their pilot chips), the two ladies found their way to the center of the city, which presented the planet's Capitol castle encased by the city. It was a grand central to the surroundings, and unlike Vegeta-Sei, the whole set of nations on this planet were pretty developed.

But to admire wasn't what they were here for. 'We've sworn to get King Vegeta those Dragonballs, and I will stop at nothing to do so,' Launch had promised herself. Of course she had hopes of becoming the Queen of Vegeta-Sei someday, but that was a better laid plan for when she was in the King's good graces. The two young and agile women rushed through to the court outside the castle itself, which was buzzing with people.

Launch weaved about them towards the entrance, her android counterpart trailing behind her. "These people are annoying, Launch. Why can't we just force our way through them?" This earned an odd look from an old woman passing by, which Eighteen returned wholeheartedly.

"No, Eighteen, we're not going to cause a fuss in public like this. We are here to beat that woman silly and get our treasures back."

It wasn't until later that Launch and Eighteen had gained access to the castle interior with great ease, much to their humor. By then the sun had past full mass in the sky and was rolling towards evening.

"Where is she?!" Launch and Eighteen walked slowly down the corridor, listening in on the conversations taking place in one of the large rooms off the hall.

"My Lord, the Queen said she had some important business to attend to at the moment and had to take a small trip." The two girls felt a little sorry for the man who had to deliver the news to the King that Bulma had gone somewhere, but this new revelation interested them.

"And where was this trip?"

"She did not say. Lady Bulma took her ship and left two days ago, but she did say that she'd be back in a matter of days. My Lord, you may even expect her today," he said in an attempt to get out of that room with his life.

"You may go." He turned, and the man sighed almost inaudibly. "But I want to be informed the minute she returns and no later."

"What does this mean, Launch?" Eighteen said in a whisper as the man left.

"This means that we're going to search her quarters for the Dragonballs, and when we don't find them, we're going to have to take something else." They moved down the halls once more, "and if anyone gets in our way, we'll just have to deal with them.

It wasn't until a while later that the duo found Bulma's quarters and started tearing it apart to find the Dragonballs, but they found only some spare parts from some kind of thing Bulma had been working on.

"Launch, come here." Eighteen pointed towards the metal pieces, "What does this remind you of?"

"Shit, she's made a tracking radar for the Dragonballs. It's has to be her that has them." Launch turned to leave the ransacked room, "And now we know where she's going now. There are three balls she doesn't have, but Vegeta does. Let's head out, there's nothing else we can do here."

"But how are we going to get them from her?" Eighteen walked with her partner. "She's not going to give them up, even in a fight."

"Then we're going to have to have the upper hand on this one, now aren't we?"

–

"Who's are you..." A sleepy voice echoed in the small bedroom.

"Shh, we're going to take you to your mother. Just go back to sleep." The young boy fell limp in the android's arms as Launch whispered to him. "Let's go."

As they exited the doors, the two were oblivious of being watched by more than one person, one of which tried to intervene.

"And where do you think you're taking my son?"

"You must be the King Atrono, I've heard about you. We need to speak to your wife... but ti seems in her absence, your son is going to have to come with us. If you have a problem with that, I'll just kill you."

–

Lynna watched from the cracked door off of Trunks' room. She laid him down for a nap, like any normal day, and now people were kidnapping them? What the hell was Bulma doing over there, she wasn't even supposed leave a trace that she was there.

She watched as Atrono tried to fight the blue-haired one, but failed. Lynna didn't know if he was alright, but at the moment, she didn't care. Trunks was who mattered right now, and as the attackers left towards the ports, Lynna followed behind.

She was going to sneak aboard and see just what Bulma was up to over in Vegeta-Sei.

–

After the Dragonballs pulsed, Bulma thought better about staying in that room for any longer and ran out the door towards the only place in this castle that she felt safe: Chi Chi's room.

When she arrived, Bulma kept face and knocked on the door, even though she would rather have walked right in to get out of plain sight. The Saiyan-like woman opened the door, glad to see her friend once more. When Bulma stepped over the threshold, she was suddenly encased in a vise grip of a hug, something so motherly and comforting that Bulma forgot where she was for a moment and allowed herself a peaceful thought or two. Even though it didn't seem to last long, for Chi Chi released her and welcomed Bulma into their small home.

Nothing seemed to have changed too much around here, although that couldn't be Gohan sitting at the table. He was such a small boy when she departed years ago. "This is Goten, my second born. I believe you only met Gohan for a split second when you were last here, but now we have two," Chi Chi sat down at the table, which looked as if the two were having a meal when Bulma knocked. She felt slightly guilty, but knew that Chi Chi would have kicked her ass had she gone anywhere else.

Bulma leaned down to Goten's level and looked at his familiar features, "I know a boy just about your age that would love to play with you!" Goten's face changed to that of excitement, completely forgetting the food before him.

"Maybe you'll get to meet him very soon," at Chi Chi's line, Bulma looked up at her with a kind of sadness in her eyes. But that wasn't all, it was fear. Why was Bulma so afraid to let Vegeta know the truth. But in a moment, Bulma looked back at Goten, her eyes now filled with a sort of hope, "Yeah, maybe."

At first, time went slow as Bulma spent as long as she could talking to Chi Chi. She had to admit that woman could talk on and on, and as Bulma looked at the clock for the second time, she took a small gasp of air. "Um, Chi Chi, dear. I have to go!"

–

Vegeta had long been back from the distraction, and in that time, he kept contemplating what was happening in him. As he fought, it seemed something changed in him so, he felt empowered enough to reach that level, whatever it was.

But it hadn't been an accident, of that he was sure. If he was forced to name his one goal as King, and as a Saiyan, he would immediately speak of being the first in years to obtain the infinite.

He stepped from the shower, grabbing a towel and sauntering into his quarters noticing the moment that he walked in that something was off about it. In a state of pondering, Vegeta assumed that he hadn't sensed what was different about it, but now with a slightly clear head, his instincts took his right to the safe.

He placed his hand on the outside, hoping that they were still there. Up until today, when he felt the power in his veins, Vegeta's wish would be to have that status, to be the one. And if he reached it before they were all gathered on Vegeta-Sei, well, Vegeta hadn't really thought about a second wish.

He did his best not to just pull the door from the safe by strength and filled in the combination until he heard a click.

And when he opened the door, it was as he suspected.

"Launch..." She was the only one that would steal them, the only one that knew about them and where he kept them. She was unhappy about him pressuring her, so Launch had decided to take it in her hands to steal the Dragonballs, did she...?

That was the last straw.

He summoned a servant. "Get me Piccolo."

--

It wasn't but an hour later after Vegeta had dealt with the Launch issue that he found himself walking along the hallways to nowhere in particular. It had become a pastime of him; he no longer just sat on his throne commanding people all day long – he just needed to get out and walk, as if there was something he was searching for throughout the labyrinth that was his palace.

This time Vegeta had the same feeling; it was a feeling that suggested that there was something waiting beyond every corner. And what Vegeta didn't know was he was about to find it.

Bulma was eagerly awaiting the moment she was able to board her ship and be done with it all. She wanted to see the man, that she wouldn't admit to herself. But he was someone special to her, someone so significant in her life that, if she didn't take advantage of a situation like this, Bulma realized she go insane from pure feelings of want and need.

She paused for a moment, leaning her arm on the wall and feeling slightly lightheaded. There was a corner right up ahead, and beyond that corner were double doors that led to the carrier room, where she'd find her ship paused and ready to go, as Yamcha would have it prepared for her should she walk through those doors at any time.

But something else was drawing her to turn the corner, something more instinctual and feral. She couldn't place her thumb on it, but was going to step forward when she stopped.

Footsteps. They echoed through the hallways, tough and commanding. Bulma knew those footsteps, and she would have fainted had it not been for the fact that such an act would draw the attention of King Vegeta, who was approaching her corner as she hid behind it.

She breathed quickly, knowing it was inevitable that he would notice her there and come after her. But Bulma wanted to know how she'd react before it happened.

Vegeta had been immersed in his own thoughts about the missing Dragonballs until something so sweet and familiar pulled him from them. The scent in the air was different, nothing he'd smelled before, yet the ki--

The ki that was hiding behind that corner was the unmistakable trace of the woman that had plagued his mind for half a decade: Bulma.

He stopped, and knowing that she'd been discovered, Bulma took a step by step path until she rounded the corner and allowed herself to drink in the image of her … her mate. The one she was meant to be with. It seemed that he was thinking and feeling the same thing as they both looked the other over to find differences and similarities compared to their past counterparts.

"Vegeta..." Bulma whispered his name, but that sound was enough to power his legs; they walked, stronger than ever, to her. When he was in reach of Bulma, his hands grabbed her shoulders and pushed her up against the wall to ravage her mouth with his own.

No words were exchanged between the two, just motions of body against body contact.

And they followed each other to a wing of the castle where things seemed to have frozen in time, and still neither one said anything.

–

"It's about damn time, I'm ready to get off this ship and onto some land!" Eighteen leaned back and stretched as they were closing in on Vegeta-Sei. Launch remained silent in the pilot's seat, even now and then glancing at the young boy that sat behind them. He was wide awake and staring holes in the backs of their seats as if he knew they had nothing of his best interests in mind.

He could smell greed when he was near it.

But the young boy didn't say a thing. He was waiting for them to land before he made any moves. Their power level was weak, but he needed their access into the planet. His parents were in there, and there was something too fishy about these women for him to ignore the fact that his parents might be in trouble.

Trunks was only half correct: they had access, but it wouldn't get him far.

He'd been taught to respect his elders at a young age, and the power level of the man that met them as they docked the ship was high enough for Trunks to listen to what he had to say, which wasn't much.

He just remembered being dropped off with a harpie of a lady and her son, and Lynna joined them not too much later. Trunks was very confused, but he would do something about it once that Chi Chi woman left him alone for five minutes...

Piccolo had seen the resemblance of the boy to the King of the Warrior race, and he'd have to be a fool to ignore the power level radiating from the kid. But it was best not to involve him in his own affairs, Piccolo had a job to do, so he left the kid in trusted hands.

--

'I have to tell him. I have to.' Hundreds of things were crawling through Bulma's mind at the moment, but when she was laying there in bed with him, the current problem at the front of her mind was to tell him that he was a father.

She turned her whole body towards his, looking at his face , eyes closed, knowing that he wasn't asleep. "Vegeta, there's something very important that I need to tell you." With her words, his eyes slowly opened and he fixed his gaze onto her face. It was like time had stopped and they were once again in their romance that had occurred almost seven years ago. He slowly sat up, the blanket shielding his natural state sliding down his body and hers.

"What is it, Woman?" Bulma slightly smirked, that word 'Woman', once she had taken it as an insult. But these days, she knew that coming from him it was now a term of endearment.

"When I left here, years ago, I found out that --"

There was a hard, pounding knock at the ornate doors to his suite before she could continue. Vegeta let a small growl escape his lips at being interrupted, but instead rose and opened the door, not caring that he was naked. Bulma figured that in a warrior race that wore such revealing armor anyway, all the males were used to seeing each other in the nude.

A young Saiyan stood there, unwavering even staring into Vegeta's bare figure. Bulma tried her best to lower herself behind the pile of sheets. Vegeta's large bed was perfectly aligned with the door, she only had to make one small move and that young man out there would see a naked woman in the King's bed. She'd probably be mistaken for a whore again! How embarrassing!

So Bulma kept stone still and listened to the murmured conversation as best as she could.

"My lord, the bounty hunter you sent for. It seems he has already completed the bounty and wishes to collect his reward."

'Bounty hunter, what for? For Launch?' Bulma slightly leaned forward, noticing that that light emitting from the open door gleamed on her alabaster skin. 'Vegeta couldn't be serious, putting a bounty on Launch's head because she stole the Dragonballs?' The blue-haired woman had to correct herself; Vegeta's mind had seemingly been on it all day that even she was convinced of Launch's guilt, though Bulma knew much better.

The King spoke in hushed tones as he gave some order Bulma couldn't understand and then turned as the door closed once more. Vegeta crossed back to the bed, remembering fully that Bulma had something she wanted to tell him, but he was face with what seemed like more important things at the moment.

"I must go to the main hall. There are some important business matters that I must attend to.

Bulma tried to stop him, but decided that if he had important business awaiting him, Vegeta was going to go no mater what she had to say. However, Bulma decided to tag along, the curiosity getting the better of her. Vegeta had known she was trailing behind him on the way to the main hall, and finally he turned around and said, "If you want to come with me, Woman, then make an effort to not look so sneaky. It's childish." Bulma almost smiled, and joined his side in the walk to the throne room.

When the couple arrived, the room was bare of it's usual inhabitants, which made the space look as large as her entire castle hollowed out. The lonely feeling entered her bones once more just thinking about what she'd left behind in her home even when compared to what was always waiting her here.

The first person she spied was Piccolo. Oh yeah, Bulma had definitely heard of this guy. There he was, one of the most defiant criminals ever put behind bars: and now he was working for them, a bounty hunter on his own time and his own circumstances. He was one of the best, she'd heard. Piccolo didn't look so harmful, but still his glances and stares were a bit creepy as she glanced him over just imagining what he could do.

Bulma's eyes shifted to the right to spy his 'guests'. Launch and her friend, Eighteen were standing next to him. Neither one was bound, but Bulma figured if she was in the situation to be captured by Piccolo of all people, trying to escape would be as futile as trying to bribe him to let them go.

Launch spoke first, "I see the wench is with you." Vegeta openly growled at her defiance.

"You are charged with theft. Do you have anything to say."

"Theft of the Dragonballs, I assume? My dear King, you are barking up the wrong tree." Her smooth voice was still intact, Bulma noticed, even though she was a captive of one of the most brutal races among the system. Launch nodded towards Bulma, "She is the one you seek, for her interest in the Dragonballs is much more _intimate_ than mine."

"Launch, you'd do better to choose your words wisely or seal your mouth. I will not tolerate such slander."

"I guess I should have known better than speak the truth around you. That woman, that whore of a girl, has tamed you, my Lord. I thought you a stronger man than that."

Bulma fumed from the shadows, and if it hadn't been for Vegeta's grasp on Launch's neck, Bulma knew that her hand would be in that very spot trying to choke the life out of her. The captive woman tried to speak with the pressure of Vegeta's constricting tendons on her throat, but barely could whisper the rest.

"What else... what else don't you know?" Vegeta released a bit of the pressure, a sign for her to continue. "Has she t-told you (gasp) about her s-s-... s-"

"Her what! Speak up!"

"Her s-son!" Launch barely managed to get the air out of her throat to form the words. Vegeta's hand released her neck in a surprised instant, and Launch backed up as much as she could with Piccolo now behind her. She coughed and held her damaged skin as she met Vegeta's eye once more. Vegeta didn't dare look back at Bulma just yet; he wanted to hear just what Launch had to say.

"A son, you say..." Vegeta paused. Bulma started to panic – not because Vegeta was going to find out – but because Launch knew about Trunks. How did she know? How could she know? Had she seen Trunks?

Oh no. They had seen him, which mean that they'd been in her home. What happened to them? Atrono, Trunks, Lynna, what was going on?!

"Yes... a son," Launch had trouble speaking, but that didn't mean that she was going to pass up a chance to let out Bulma's secret. "A young boy that we brought back with us from her planet. Guess she hadn't gotten around to telling you just yet."

"Where is he?!" Bulma screamed through the hall, feeling it echo on the ceiling and back.

Piccolo spoke for seemingly the first time, "I left the boy in Lady Chi Chi's care." His deep voice hadn't even stopped reverberating through the hall that Bulma ran out towards Chi Chi's room. How could she have been so blind? She'd left her son at home while she pursued her own ambitions, and now look at everything.

She'd put Trunks in danger.

This time, Bulma failed to knock on the door, choosing instead to just burst into Chi Chi's quarters. She immediately spotted Trunks and his surprised caretaker sitting on the floor and sat to scoop him into her arms. "I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry...." She rocked her son in her arms, repeating her sentiment to him over and over until her tears had subsided.

It was when Bulma calmed down that Chi Chi, who had witnessed the whole event, scooted next to her and spoke in a soft tone. "Bulma, what's wrong?"

"Everything, Chi Chi! Do you know who brought Trunks to this planet?"

"Well, Piccolo dropped him off."

"Yes," Bulma finally got out. "The bounty hunter! And do you know what his bounty is, perhaps? Launch! Freaking Launch and that robot side kick of hers. They kidnapped Trunks from my planet, and brought him here, probably in an attempt to get the Dragonballs from me. She knows; I know she knows."

"Bulma..." A voice echoed from one of the bedrooms. Bulma rose her head in answer.

"Lynna? Are you alright, did they take you too?"

"No, I saw them take Trunks and sneaked onto the ship. But I have some news about Atrono." Lynna took a seat on the floor next to her friend and drew a breath. "I don't know if he's alright. He tried to get in their way when they came for Trunks. Launch attacked. But I was so worried about Trunks – and getting on that ship with them – that I didn't get to see if he was alright."

Bulma shook her head, "I'm just glad that Trunks wasn't alone when they took him." Trunks tried to say something though it came out mumbled with his whole head pressed into her chest. Bulma released him a little; she'd been so glad that he was sage that she didn't realize she'd been cutting off his oxygen.

"Mom, I'm fine. Like I told you, I'm not a baby – and I can take care of myself. If I need to, I'll defend you and Lynna no matter what." Bulma just looked at her son, knowing that he was smart and wise just like his parents, but at the same time she couldn't shake how young his voice sounded. He was her baby, he would always be her baby.

"Trunks, I know you're going to be a big, strong man one day. But right now you're young, and I'm going to protect you as much as I can. There's something that I want to tell you," she paused, only for a second to contemplate just how she was going to put this. "As you're mother, you know I'd never lie to you – but I haven't been completely honest either. As you know, Atrono isn't your father, and as you have expertly guessed... you are the only son of a King, but it is the King of Vegeta-Sei, the planet we are now on."

Bulma stopped. She didn't know where to go from there, in every sense. What else could she tell Trunks? Vegeta would be on his way to see Trunks in a moment; she was certain that being left alone with Launch had shown Vegeta a few more revelations than he'd expected in their small reunion. But after that, she was stuck. Was she supposed to stay there with Vegeta, let him get to know his son? Or was she going to be forced by her husband to go back to their planet and reign once more as its queen.

At that moment the door behind her opened, and she didn't have to turn to ind out who it was. Nevertheless she did anyways to give Vegeta the benefit of the doubt. He was alone, no doubt having left Launch and Eighteen with Piccolo. Who knew what the girls' fate would be eventually?

He seemed out of breath – very unusual behavior for a Saiyan – and stood there as still as stone.

She picked up Trunks from her lap and sat him on the floor, unfolding her long legs from under her and stood up to look Vegeta in the eye. Well, it would have been in the eye had he been looking at her. He was outwardly staring at his son, you could tell in his eyes that he just knew who Trunks was the moment he laid sight on him.

"You're..." His breathy voice ran together, but he wasn't able to get out the words before Bulma just bolted from the room. She knew Trunks would be fine, but she wouldn't be. Things were falling apart all around her, and she was being buried under the rubble.

'Please, please, Vegeta...' Bulma imagined as she escaped. 'Vegeta, don't follow me, let me alone for now...' All Bulma could think to do was run to the suite she stayed in six years before and collapse onto the bed exhausted.

--

The King searched for Bulma, finally spotting her ki on one of the above floors of the palace. She'd been avoiding him for a whole day now, not even pausing to speak to or look at him. But he wanted to know – needed to know – the answers to some of the questions plaguing his mind. After seeing Trunks and then watching her flee the room, he'd had the sense to let her be for the day, hoping she'd come around sooner or later. But it wasn't, by tempt of fate, going to be that easy between them.

He took the steps upwards two at a time, headstrong and determined to get down to the truth...

Vegeta found his mate sitting upon a marble bench that dotted one of the balconies. The King noticed that this particular balcony sprouted from the building so high, that he could see land from most of the surrounding counties. The height also added to the amount of breeze that flew through the air. It passed through each strand of hair on both of their heads, an Vegeta watched as it tickled the back of Bulma's neck. She hadn't turned to acknowledge him yet, but he was certain that she was aware of his presence: she always was.

"We have a lot to talk about, Woman."

Bulma tried to nod her head, but it just wouldn't respond. "I know, Vegeta. I'm sorry that things had to happen this way. I tried... I was going to tell you about him, but there didn't seem to be a right time to suddenly say, 'Hey, you have a son.' I'd waited six years, what was one more day?" Bulma finally swiveled around to face him, and Vegeta saw the confusion in her expression.

"There is no right time to say something like that. But you should have told me about him the minute you figured out he was my son." Bulma almost smiled at Vegeta's words. '_My son_', it was endearing.

"You're right. I messed up." She turned once again to look out at the scenery, "but what can I do. I did what I thought was necessary for Trunks to have a normal life."

"He would have had a better than normal life from the beginning had I been in the know."

"How's that, Vegeta?" She stood to face him now. "How would he have had a great life? Having his parents on two different planets, being split by not only space but culture as well. That's not a good life for a child, King Vegeta." Vegeta frowned at how formal she was starting to sound.

"Well, he's obviously old enough to know and understand. You may leave him here and be on your way, if you must." Bulma blanched. That wasn't what she had expected him to say. Was he turning her out?

"I'm not leaving Trunks here."

"You don't have a choice."

"I believe I do. He's already the heir to one nation, there's no changing that. Atrono doesn't know."

"So, I'm not the only on you've lied to." Vegeta started to pace along the width of the balcony. "I'll bet Atrono still thinks you love him."

"Atrono knows that I've never loved him."

Vegeta found himself in a situation. He couldn't take betrayal like this, not again. He had to stop it now, to let her go and separate them both from further harm. But he was going to have to do something about Trunks. The boy was his son, he was Vegeta's chance to erase how his own father turned his back on him after his mother's infidelity.

"I can't go on like this. It seems that the passion we had for each other has faded, at least on my end." Vegeta turned to leave, as he was walking he threw words over his shoulder, "In my impartiality I will allow you to leave and take the boy with you for now. But, Woman, don't think I won't fight you for him should it come to it."

Bulma felt crushed. What was he saying?!

"You mean to tell me that you don't care for me anymore... after something like this?" Bulma stood as still as she could, her heart piling onto the ground as if her mind had no use for it any longer. Bulma had hoped that when Vegeta found out about Trunks and her hiding it from him, he might see through it and forgive her since they had something so strong between them. But it seemed that he wasn't going to be so merciful.

Vegeta stood still for a moment, unable to speak; the words weren't going to leave his mouth lest his throat close up and never let him breath again. He did love her, would always care for her most in the world, but she'd betrayed him just like his mother had done to his father. Maybe not a carbon copy of the situation because Bulma had never cheated on him with another man, of that Vegeta could be sure. But Bulma knew she'd kept too many things from him: the truth about the Dragonballs and his son, both of which were a shot through the heart that he would never be prepared to take... a betrayal threatening to drive him down the road of destruction that his father had chosen, a place Vegeta was going to stay as far away from as he could.

He just nodded. But Bulma didn't believe it. She wouldn't accept the lie; she couldn't accept such words.

Bulma was going to prove that he did love her, still loved her, and always would. She still felt the strong wind pounding at her back, the building currents brought in by the sea air. It was fresh, crisp, it calmed her, and Bulma decided that he was going to admit that he would never forget his feelings whether he wanted to admit it or not.

She smiled at him, not the smirk that she'd developed over the years, it was a simple, sweet, and slightly sad upturn of the lips as she started walking backwards. The end of her dress fluttered in the strong winds and flew around her feet as she turned and ran for it.

Bulma leaped off the balcony.

For a moment, Vegeta couldn't even feel the wind against his skin, the instant numbness of his skin a result of what he'd just seen.. Just the image of her feet disappearing over the ledge was enough for his mind to shut down into autopilot and jump after her.

Bulma stared up at the balcony railing, which was, it seemed, quickly ascending into the sky as she fell further and further. 'He's not coming,' ran through her mind for a split second before she saw a figure pounce off the edge after her. With the sun in her eyes, Bulma couldn't make out Vegeta's features, just the outline of his muscular physique. She silently thanked whoever that the balcony she'd been upon was many stories from the ground as Vegeta's hand wrapped around her wrist, gripping it tightly as he pulled her into his grasp.

The feeling of falling so freely was amazing, Bulma had thought. But there was nothing compared to the lurch her stomach gave as she was pulled into gravity defying arms as if she weight no more than a feather.

The blue-haired girl didn't dare look up at her savior, knowing that his eyes probably burned with a thousand times more passionate anger than she'd ever seen him put off. He was possibly fuming.

'I'd be happy that he loved me enough to save my life if it weren't for the fact he might be mad enough to do the job himself right now,' Bulma almost giggled at the thought, but knew better. Vegeta landed his feet on the soft grass of the garden they'd been overlooking not minutes ago, and he turned his head to stare up at the bottom of the balcony to see how far she would have fallen.

When Bulma tried to struggle out of his grasp, Vegeta lay her on the ground softly, delicately, and put his hands in either side of her head. "Bulma, what the hell are you doing! You could have been killed if I hadn't saved you. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

She just stared at his eyes, liquid pooling at the base of her own. He'd saved her, come for her even though he swore never to love her again. But that wasn't the best part.

He'd said her name.

Sure, Bulma was certain that he'd thought her name before, and definitely heard it, spoken it when not in her presence. But to her face, he'd never called her by her own name... and that was a big step for the Saiyan prince. Of course she didn't call him out on it, for if she did, Bulma knew she would never hear it leave his lips again.

Instead, her hands flew upwards and grasped the sides of his face as well before she hugged herself to his body. Vegeta returned the gesture, knowing full well that she was just happy she'd proven him wrong. Sitting here on the green just outside the palace, Vegeta swore to himself that he would never let her fall, ever.

–

Tsuyoku: Haha, wow. This chapter has been the worst to write, I've just had a hard, frustrating time with this one... arg. There are things presented in this chapter that will be further explained in subsequent chapters, especially the theft of the Dragonballs and what Vegeta and Bulma are going to do about Trunks and their relationship. And who is going to go Super Saiyan first, and why? If there are any holes in this chapter, or things that don't seem clear, forgive me and let me know. It's been a long, gruesome process. I know that this isn't going to be the last chapter, but I'm assuming that there will be only a few more, but we'll see how these go. I only write the outline of these chapters and then fill in the rest, so it ends up being pretty different from the original thought. Anyways, R&R please – keep going, I write better when I get feedback. ^.^


	8. Respectful Wishes

Tsuyoku: First off, sorry about the author's note a while back, I honestly never meant to give you the idea I was going to quit this story -- just take a slight break from it so I could get a few things together. Obviously I was having a lot of trouble with other parts of my life and decided to take it out on my readers *gasp*, I'm sorry, guys. Anyways, I know that this chapter is looooong overdue in many ways -- but alas, here's the eighth installment.

And also, I don't know why the reviewer originally told me about that other fic, I know I was not copying off of it, nor would it be like mine and am still wondering why this person thought it to be a good idea to tell me in the first place, gah, it just makes me a little ticked when I think about it... but I'm rambling, sorry. Please continue. ^.^

Tempt of Fate Chapter Eight

Bulma's anxiety about her situation hadn't subsided even when Vegeta had taken her to his room; she needed rest, he'd demanded. The King, however pissed he acted outwardly was internally appreciative of the fact that she was okay after her would-be suicide attempt from the balcony. She knew he'd save her, Bulma tried to explain as he berated her; he had saved her… loved her even against his word.

Though Vegeta would never own up to acting so uncomposed, Bulma had scared him, and he'd been repeatedly telling his mate how stupid she was for even trying something. "What if I hadn't gotten to you in time?" The woman said nothing for a moment, just stewed over in her mind that there was no point in thinking about the 'what-ifs' now. She just lay back on his bed reveling in the fact that for now, her whole family was on one planet – and that was enough to make up for the fact that her life was a complicated mass of twists and turns and drama.

After the hundredth time she smiled, Vegeta had given up on trying to lecture her in her blissful state of mind, and left to deal with very personal matters. Piccilo, after the confusing incident in the main hall had happily taken both his bounty reward and leave of the planet, leaving the captives in the dungeons of Vegeta-sei.

The holdings, which were housed far below the ground, were famous for their kind of accommodations – miserable, to put it into one word. You could tell the state of things as soon as you entered through the large doors, hearing your own footsteps on the cobbled scrap stone that made up the hallways and floor. A musty, old scent filled the King's nostrils as he strode up to the cell, bringing back memories of visiting his mother in these same quarters long, long ago.

Launch was the first to lift her head at the arrival of Vegeta, Eighteen shortly following suit. The blue-haired woman lay her arms through the bars, teasing Vegeta that her fingertips were a mere brush away from his chest. For a moment, Vegeta's mind clouded with the idea of breaking that spirit, his own personal torture making her eyes no longer hold that spirited gaze. He mentally shook his thoughts back to the matter at hand as Launch first spoke.

"So, Vegeta, I take it that he is your son after all?" She shifted so her figure pressed up against the bars, noticing what effect she had on the King even still through the millisecond flashes of uncertainty in his eyes. "Not that I didn't suspect as much when I first laid eyes on him – he definitely favors your side. I knew a kind that strong couldn't be the son of someone as weak as that Atrono. Are you here to gloat… or to thank me for dispatching of such a feeble man posing as you son's father and your mate's husband?"

Vegeta shifted in slight surprise allowing Launch time to respond. "You didn't think I knew? But, why would you? It's not like any normal person could see such a bond between two people. You forget my Saiyan inheritance -- however diluted it may be in its current form. That's not exactly something that I could easily miss; I tried so hard to get your attention once again, but she managed to pin you first." Launch paced towards the back of the cell. "Truthfully, I didn't think it was possible..."

"That's not what I'm here to talk about."

Launch smirked, "Of course not. You're here because of the Dragonballs. You want to know where they are… where we've stashed them," Vegeta nodded once. "But like I said before, King Vegeta, you're barking up the wrong tree. Why do you thing we were on Bulma's planet to begin with? We certainly didn't go up there to just kidnap the brat." She returned to her position at the cell door, "we followed the tracker there." Vegeta sneered at the thought of Launch blaming his mate. She didn't even know of the Dragonballs existence, did she?

"I am proof, My Lord," Eighteen said from the back of the cell. She hadn't spoken the whole time; Vegeta had begun to think the Android was unaware of his presence. She rose and walked to join her cohort. Her fingers pressed lightly against a synthetic part of her skin to open a small compartment. Vegeta hadn't understood the Android's technology to begin with, let alone the small devices weaved within her arm. "This is our radar. It allows me to locate the Dragonballs if they are in the boundaries of this solar system, which all seven have been. Launch and I thrashed her room, after finding out she had the other Dragonballs we were searching for. While we looked, Launch found some materials in her room which were similar to the ones used to make my radar."

"She used them to make her own radar, Vegeta." Launch's voice appeared after Eighteen's loud and accusing. Vegeta normally wouldn't condone such slander about someone so close to him as Bulma, but for the moment he would entertain Launch's thoughts and her interesting theory. "That woman knew about the Dragonballs, just as she knew you had the remaining ones. She needed them… that's why she slept with you in the first place, and that's the same reason she returned this time around." Vegeta's face turned sour, and for a moment all he could do was stand there, not believing that Bulma could be so deceitful, but Launch had place a small weave of doubt through him. He believed in Bulma, loved her with the very pit of his inner being, but that small seed of doubt… it was fertile within his conscious – the two wenches had one good point.

Why did Bulma decided to come back of all times? Why had she waited till he caught her on Vegeta-sei to mention his son?

He said nothing as he turned from the two women and headed for the exit of the dungeons; Vegeta was going to get to the bottom of this even if it killed him in the process.

--

Bulma looked around the room, her slightly giddy mood wearing off after Vegeta left her; she could not, it seemed enjoy her current state without him there, knowing that he saved her, that he did, indeed, love her.

Her mind slowly evolved back into reasonable thinking, and began to wonder about things that Lynna had said in Chi Chi's room. "Atrono..." Was she worried about him? Maybe. Bulma couldn't deny that she wasn't entirely sorry that he was attacked, but if he was terribly hurt or dead because Launch had a vendetta against her, then that was something else entirely. Could she get ahold of him?

Though, it couldn't hurt to check in for a moment, he was her husband after all.

She glanced around the room already knowing that Vegeta didn't have anything close to a communicator computer in his quarters; she'd just have to find one. She exited the room, hearing nothing short of silence that rung within her ears. Her feet met the hallway's freezing cold marble floor making it uncomfortable to walk on. Bulma's bare feet padded along the hallway floor, her soles slightly worn and sore from the lack of cushion. 'It's really weird being back... I feel like...' Bulma couldn't think of the right way to word her own situation. She was at an impasse, a crossroads where her past intersected with her future. What was she going to do about all this? 'There must be some way that I can stay here with Vegeta, we're meant to be together, I know it. But… how?'

'But what about Atrono? He might just be seriously hurt,' she tried to tell herself, but the Queen knew that she wouldn't be able to rest until she knew for certain what Atrono's fate was. Chi Chi had one, she knew. Bulma didn't say much to Chi Chi when she opened the door, only explaining that she needed to check up on her husband through the tele-com. Trunks was away with Goten, having finally found someone he could fight with on an almost equal level and Lynna was helping Chi Chi with some kind of garment Chi Chi was working on, of which Bulma would most likely never understand.

She concentrated on getting a line back home – or at least what used to be home. It had taken her a few minutes to get through, getting frustrated at every point she could. Why was this taking so long? She finally contacted the Royal Palace and with some convincing that she was in fact the Queen, she managed to get the King's personal connection. But that wasn't who ended up answering the call. It was Atrono's right hand man, Bulma noticed, which didn't seem like a good sign.

At first, Marco had an annoyed look upon his face, but it changed as soon as he recognized the caller, "My Lady?" he managed to stutter out.

"I need to speak with my husband," Bulma asked diplomatically. She wasn't about to stir up some suspicion or confusion by asking if the King was alright before she knew anything more. If the King was hurt, the last person to know was probably going to be the estranged Queen who was planets away in a passionate love affair. No one on her planet knew at all about it, and she was intending to keep it that way.

"You know, under normal circumstances I would decline any calls for the King in his state, but in his state he has been asking for you for some time now." That was also not a good sign. Not that Bulma was too concerned with getting in trouble with Atrono of all people. She'd be more worried about pissing off Vegeta than him. She sighed, "Please let me speak to him."

After a moment, the call was redirected and the first thing she saw was Atrono sitting in their bad, beaten and bruised. No doubt that he had taken a beating, and if it was days ago she would bet that the Kingdom was worried about him… and her… in their absence.

"Where have you been?" Bulma was startled. She expected to be a bit berated, but not yelled at as soon as his face graced the screen. She had half a mind to yell back at him, but if she wanted to remain on Vegeta-sei long enough to find a way to stay permanently, Bulma knew that she had to make sure to be even slightly respectful for a few minutes.

"I am sorry; there was some personal business that required my immediate attention." Which wasn't a lie, it was the truth… just twisted a little.

"On another planet? Bulma, what the hell has gotten into you these days? You've left your jobs, duties, and who knows what else. Whose going to do those while you're gone? Did you even think about that?" At one point, Bulma started to tune him out.

He was right; she'd just left her responsibilities. What the hell was she thinking? But Atrono just kept talking and yelling at her; she couldn't take it. Bulma turned off the monitor and rose from her seat.

When Bulma walked into the main room , Lynna rushed to her. "My Queen, what's wrong? You're been troubled all day..."

"I've neglected them, Lynna. My people." Her lady's maid knew what she was talking about: before Trunks was born, before Vegeta had clouded the bright woman's young mind, Bulma's baby had been the kingdom that she nurtured. And even though her grip on it had since become lax after Trunks' birth, the kingdom's well being had been second only to him.

"Bulma, I know that providing for your country is important to you, but isn't you happiness supposed to be first and foremost above all those things? Could managing your country and being with Atrono live up to even half of the happiness that you've experienced here in just a few days?" Bulma blinked. She hadn't really thought about it, but Lynna was right. While the days here had been long and full of eventful discoveries, she would take a say of this over a lifetime with Atrono and her people.

"I hadn't really thought about it like that. I care about all of the people there – but someone else could do my job... Maybe I could be happy here." She paced the room, as if Chi Chi and Lynna were her audience. "But how? How do I stay here? I--" She looked at her pocket, then at Lynna. "I have a way."

"You mean the Dragonb--" Lynna didn't want to say anything around Chi Chi just in case she wasn't in the loop.

"It's alright; she knows. And yes, I mean the Dragonballs."

--

Atrono lifted himself off the bed, his pain increasing with every used muscle. How could he let her manipulate him like that? He turned to Marco and said, "Track her."

"It will be done."

"And ready my ship. We leave as soon as we know her position," the King called from his walk to docks.

Marco had some reservations about doing anything to the queen, who had been nothing but kind to him in the past, but this was his King, and he had a duty to do as King Atrono pleased... which was what he was afraid of.

--

On the way back from the dungeons, Vegeta had been pondering what he was going to ask Bulma about the Dragonballs. In truth, he was fearful about what her answer would be. Had she known about them all along, were those her real intentions when she had gone to bed with him years ago, and was Trunks really just an accident that happened along the way? He couldn't believe it; he wasn't going to believe it.

Vegeta had met many traitors in his long life, but Bulma wasn't the kind to – well, you only know a person so much. That was the part of being a traitor, they didn't suspect until it was too late.

Though, Vegeta had to admit, as soon as they had been bonded, he had seen how much she cared for him, felt it more like. If she really did have the Dragonballs, Vegeta knew that Bulma had to have an explanation for it.

And it'd better be good.

He stopped as he passed a window: the vista was a section of the gardens with mostly flat lands. His father had taken him to spots like these when he was so young – which reminded him of the two boys that were using the spot for the same reason. The King was inwardly amazed at both the boys' power levels at such a young age; he could feel Trunks' power level pulsing at the edges like his had been in that brawl outside the palace.

Was Trunks really that close to reaching the legendary status? He stepped outside to observe the two a little closer.

Trunks and Goten finished their punches in the air before falling to the ground and each taking a breath. As they smiled at each other, a spar well done, Trunks noticed their spectator. "King Vegeta," Goten bowed. Vegeta recognized him as Kakkarot's brat... or Goku as he was called these days. Trunks stood back and didn't say anything, but acknowledged his father with a nod. He was slightly uncomfortable about what to call him: King, Father, Dad? Trunks didn't know.

"Goten," the young boy lifted his head as his name was called through the thick 'father and son' silence. His own father stood at the door to the palace, leaning on the frame having watched the spar as well. With a court jerk of the shin from his father, and a smile, Goten ran to his dad and left the other two to deal with each other in some way or another.

In all truth, Vegeta had been wishing for some alone time with his son to get to know him better. Had that weakling Atrono rubbed off on him, or was the Saiyan DNA in his veins dominating all his genes?

"Boy, show me your form." Trunks didn't even flinch against his father's harsh words. He slowly did his best demonstration for his father, knowing that it would never be good enough. But the thought of having this potential teacher was enough to get him into it.

"Hmm." Vegeta commented. He completely avoided touching the boy, but coached him into the correct stances. The King would admit that his son was very well trained. "Did you have a tutor, boy?"

Trunks nodded, "Master Tulis." Trunks replied. Vegeta had heard of him. "My mother made sure I trained with him from a young age. She said that it was in my blood to fight and that I should fight well." Vegeta could have smirked; the woman was right, it was very much in his blood.

And it was then that Vegeta began to inadvertently bond with his son.

--

Atrono had easily found where the woman was, and had employed his fastest ship to travel the distance between home and Vegeta-sei, which was coming into view as he looked out the windows. He wasn't so concerned with getting her home, but Atrono was more focused on getting the boy, his heir, back where he belonged. The boy would grow up to be a great leader, under tutelage, and the King would not return without him.

He made sure to grab his gun should anyone give him any trouble.

Namely Bulma.

Marco sat in the front seat, manning the ship and obviously not appreciative of his boss' plan of action. What were they going to do? Bust into the palace and kidnap a child? He was just going to stay in the ship. The dock officers offered clearance to their ship, obviously aware of the treaty between Vegeta-sei and his planet that might likely be broken soon enough.

"Stay here, Marco. When I come back with the boy, it will be time to leave and we have to make good time." Atrono left the docking areas and set out to confront his wife, with force if needed.

--

Since talking to Lynna, Bulma's nerves had been comforted a little, but were still on edge. She had only ever heard of the Eternal Dragon's legend, how was she supposed to summon this guy? But she could have any kind of pessimistic feelings. He was her only way to stay on Vegeta-sei and Bulma was going to figure this out no matter why she had to do.

Through the hours that she's been walking around the palace, Bulma had come across Trunks and Vegeta together in the gardens. She had only caught part of Vegeta's blue clothes out of the corner of her eye, but when she'd looked, her heart melted. They were finally together, acting as father and son should act.

Vegeta punched Trunks in the stomach.

Okay, maybe not exactly how they were to act, but close enough. This was what Vegeta had to do to teach his son, and Bulma was okay with that. To give them some time, she had continued walking, her heart a little more strong than before about her permanent residence.

Soon enough, Bulma tired of walking around, her mind finally made up. She was going to stay. She smiled.

But to try the Dragonballs, Bulma knew that she had to be somewhere secret, somewhere no one knew of to allow herself room to make her only wish.

--

Bulma walked straight own the hallways towards the docks. No one was ever down here, and if she was able to find a small place to summon the Dragon, Bulma was sure she could do this. But it was creeping her out, the loneliness of this area; she had a sense of foreboding in her stomach, like something bad was going to happen – but that was a common occurrence when you were in her position. She was disgraced: a queen fleeing from her kingdom and husband to be with her lover on another planet. But that was how it was going to be – Atrono would just have to learn to be without her help from now on.

She was nearing the edge of the palace now, among the docking and storage areas. As she swiveled around a corner, Bulma noticed that her footsteps started to echo – the hallway hadn't echoed before…

Bulma stopped and the footsteps kept going before ceasing as well. She looked over her shoulder, shocked at what she saw, and tripped over her own feet when she pivoted to look at the last person she'd expected to see. "Atrono?" Bulma said from her place on the ground. For a moment she made no move to get up, just looking at her husband. "How did…"

"I'm not as stupid as I seem sometimes, Bulma. You should be honored, wounded as I am, I made a special trip here to see you." His wounds weren't as bad as they looked through the monitor it seemed. Bulma, still shaking, lifted herself off the floor never taking her eyes off him for a moment. She watched as he shifted, his good hand reaching behind him for something… what something was this? Bulma was afraid to know, but afraid that she would find out at any second.

"You've betrayed me, Bulma." He pulled out a gun, one of the older models from their planet, but a gun no less. Bulma let out a shock of surprise before trailing her eyes up the gun once more and to his wrinkling face. The look from her eyes faded as understanding set in.

"Betrayal implies that I was ever on your side to begin with, Atrono." If he was going to shoot her, then she was at least going to give him a piece of her mind once and for all.

"It doesn't surprise me anymore – ever since we came back from this wretched planet, you'd changed. I hadn't realized what it was until I tracked you to Vegeta-sei again. It's that King, isn't it? You're in love with him? I don't care." Bulma's eyebrows furrowed for a moment; she was a little offended that after all these years he didn't care that his wife cheated on him… but that let go once he came closer.

Her gaze shot from her husband's face to the gun, noticing how his finger alternated between squeezing and hovering over the trigger. Nervously, she swallowed and gradually moved backwards as he steadily moved forward. Bulma knew that she was getting close to the wall, unsure of what she was going to do when he was there. She felt trapped, increasingly uncomfortable and suddenly wanted Vegeta to come and save her for a second time today.

--

Vegeta looked at his son gasp for breath as they paused a moment from their sparring. He was strong, more strong than Vegeta had ever thought of when he was the same age; not that Vegeta would ever admit to that, but it did install a sense of pride into his being knowing that his son was one of the strongest. Kakkarot's brats had both taken greatly after their father, much to Vegeta's chagrin. The King knew that there was no one on this planet as 'on-par' with him as that low class sayjin was, and their quest for the legendary was a one-sided rat race: Kakkarot not caring who reached it, and Vegeta being consumed by the urge reach that power level first.

But even though on the inside he was a mas of darkness, fueled only by the sheer will to become more than his father had ever done… on the outside, Vegeta had toned down his ugly persona. It was in all likeliness because Bulma was back on Vegeta-sei – she was his mate, she'd accepted that this was where she needed to be: by his side. And for all he could do, Vegeta never wanted that to change.

Trunks moved from his sitting position into a crouch, obviously having had enough of a rest for the time being. "I'm ready to fight again."

The King smirked – yes, he was too.

--

"Don't kid yourself, Bulma; I didn't come here for you. Knowing how you've strayed, what would make me want you back? No planet of mine needs to be run by an adulteress." Bulma would have said something to defend herself, but with the gun pressed flush up against her abdomen, she was at a loss for all offensive words.

"Then… why are you here…?" she hesitated, did she want to know? Surely not to kill Vegeta; even Atrono had to know that there was no match in that pair – he was not strong enough to pose a threat to her mate. But to her… did he come to –

"I came to collect my son. I've accepted that my wife is a stray, but my heir isn't a total loss. He's here with you, and I have come to take him back to his rightful home."

"That's where―" She whined, the gun was starting to hurt. In his furry, Atrono had been pushing the barrel more and more into her stomach. She couldn't even move; trying to dodge a bullet at this range was death and stupidity. "That's where you're wrong, Atrono." Bulma blinked for a second, raising her eyes from his hand on the weapon to his hard, cold eyes. She knew that she was going to get shot for this… but he wasn't going to take Trunks.

She would protect him with her life.

"What that hell does that mean?" Atrono barked out.

"You're wrong. You're wrong, you're so wrong." She shook her head. "You were a fool to ever think that Trunks was your son."

Atrono's eyes became the size of saucers, realizing that if he couldn't trust her to have stayed by his side in their matrimony, how could he had ever trusted her that the boy was his own. "What are you saying?"

"Trunks _is_ home; yes, he is the son of a King – King Vegeta, here on this very planet. And right now, Trunks is with his father. If you want to take him, you'll have to go through Vegeta. And if you want to get to Vegeta –" she paused once more, "you're going to have to go through me."

"With pleasure."

Atrono pulled the trigger once, again he squeezed, more. He just kept shooting, over and over. The shots rang out in the hallways around the area. No one was safe from their deathly sound. Bulma just grasped at the air, at the wall, at anything that she could manage to hang on to. She wanted to grab anything that might keep her from passing out – from going over the edge. But it was no use. She felt no pain at first, her body having blocked out the censors. But it was slowly creeping into her system, the stinging sensations unbearable in her torso.

She slid down the wall, leaving a trail of pure, red blood behind her. It was in her hair, on her dress, on her hands, everywhere, and still there was more slowly evacuating her body. She looked at Atrono: not a drop on him.

That bastard.

Her eyes finally closed, hands still grabbing on to the pants leg of her husband, never allowing him to go find Trunks, not while she was there.

--

"You're not going fast enough!" Vegeta knocked Trunks to the ground. "This father and son spar time had turned to a training session. Vegeta was so inclined to turn the boy into the Saiyan he was, and this was how it was done.

He kept shouting commands and the boy, no matter how beaten or battered, tried to evade every punch and obeyed every shout.

But Vegeta stopped. Trunks saw the opening and took advantage of his father's distraction to once again try a melee of attacks. Vegeta took the boy by the arm and held him up in the air, trying to see if he might be able to decipher what that smell was in the air, that odd coppery smell.

"Dad, I smell blood."

Vegeta dropped Trunks and raced down the hallway. That was the scent! He had smelled Bulma, but the other scent laced within it was bothering him. Why wasn't he able to tell that it was blood, that she was bleeding – somewhere in this castle.

He came up the hallways at the other end of the castle, the scent getting stronger as he raced down their twists and turns. When he was but a corner away, his first thought might be that she had cut herself and he turn to see her smiling at her clumsiness. But that wasn't what greeted him.

Blood. That was his first thought. The sight was abhorrent, even for the King who'd seen so many bloody battles , you'd think he was used to it.

Not when it was his mate.

He picked Bulma off the floor, her eyes partially opened but glazed over as if she saw nothing. Vegeta put his hands on either side of her head, like he had done when she'd jumped from the balcony. He whispered over and over to her, 'wake up, Bulma; wake up. What are you doing, speak to me, say something, Bulma, please.' He whispered anything and everything that he could, saying her name over and over, remembering the joy that it brought to her.

But it was no use, she said nothing. He had to get her into a recovery chamber, that would certainly do the trick. In a flash, it seemed, he was outside the infirmary wing, she was all but thrown (with cautious gentleness) onto the examination table. The doctor rushing towards her body.

"What's happened?" Vegeta looked at him, not knowing what to say. He just shook his head; he didn't know. The doctor looked at her wound, "She's been shot. Multiple times, I'd say."

"What the hell are you waiting for! Put her into the chamber – make her better!" Vegeta was freaking out. She was going to be okay, she had to be okay. If she wasn't he would go insane from the sheer thought of having her here on the planet and then loosing her to whatever person had done this. It would be losing his mother all over again... losing his other half, his mate.

"I can't put her in the chamber until I get a pulse." The doctor began CPR on the victim, noticing that it was no use, but for the sake of making the King shut up, he would try. Minutes passed as he tried to revived her, to get her heart beating. But there was no pulse, no breathing, not nothing.

"I'm sorry, I can't get anything from her. She's dead, My Lord."

--

Trunks had run after his father, not too close as to not be discovered. But when Vegeta ran past him with Trunks' mother in his arms, he ran opposite them towards the smell of blood. There, ahead of him, was the pool of it, smeared on the floor from where her body lay before. He could see the indent where she'd lain – his eyes began to water, but he couldn't (And wouldn't) cry. His father had just been teaching him what it was to be a Saiyan – and that was not the behavior he was to expect out of his son of all people.

As he looked down to shield his eyes from the blinding over head lights that glared upon his unshed tears, Trunks spied a white piece of something out of the corner of his eye. He bent down and grabbed the small object out of the blood, careful not to get anything on his fingers. This was? A capsule.

His mother made them, they held many times their size and weight. His thumb pressed on the top to expand it. A box appeared, much to Trunks' confusion, and as he opened it, a small golden glow flooded his face from the reflection of the seven balls.

And he knew just who to ask about them.

--

The dungeon master hadn't known who Trunks was, but at once glance from the furious face the resembled Vegeta's so much, the guard had let the child through to talk to the only female captives.

"Launch?" The blue hair woman responded to her name, this time called by the boy she'd kidnapped (a less than expected visitor).

"Hm, and to what do I owe this visit, my Prince?" She smiled at him, no longer as afraid of this family as she used to be. Her fate would be much better than staying in this hell-hole of a dungeon.

Trunks was demented, enraged, and the smug face on this woman was not helping his mood. "I require some information you have. You talked very fervently about these Dragonballs when I was aboard your ship; tell me how to use them."

Launch shifted, her face turning to that of a serious one in moments. He had the Dragonballs – why were they with him, and what business did he have summoning the Eternal Dragon?

"Why should I help you?"

"Ahh!" Trunks screamed. He was annoyed with this game she was playing. The fury coursed through his veins, raging through his power level and elevating it to a grade that it had never reached before. He felt his eyes furrow into white-hot spheres, as if they were burning from the back of his skull. Launch and Eighteen crowded along the back wall of the cell as the Super Saiyan, the legendary power was unleashed through this young boy. "I'm getting tired of repeating myself," he finally spoke out.

"Fine, I'll show you what to do. But what do I get out of helping you to do this?" Launch started to walk forward once more.

"What do you get?" Trunks leaned in, his blue-green eyes battering her insides with just one look. "Lady, you get to keep living."

--

Tsuyoku: Wow, hi guys, I've finished the long overdue chapter, finally! Can't wait to get feedback. As much as I'd like to think this was a clifhanger, I don't think it's any mystery some of the things that are going to happen in the next chapter. But we'll see, you never know, I might stick some easter egg, surprising element in there – but I make no promises. ^.^ If there are errors, I apologize, I really wanted to get this one up quickly.


	9. Missing You

Tsuyoku: I'm hoping everyone enjoys what I have to offer in this chapter, we'll see the reaction. I really want some feedback, for I feel that everything will be wrapped up in the next chapter or two. So, we're leading up the the exciting finale of Tempt of Fate – the home stretch! Read my AN at the end and I will be back soon with chapter ten.

Tempt of Fate: Chapter Nine

Trunks hadn't realized what had happened in the last few moments, but with his mother being badly hurt, possibly killed, his patience had worn thin with Launch's smooth words. His rage had taken him over he remembered, and now Trunks could feel waves of pure energy rolling over his skin. It was wonderful to be this strong... He looked at Launch once more.

"Fine, I'll show you what to do. But what do I get out of helping you to do this?" Launch stuttered a bit as the words left her mouth, almost shaking that he was gripping the bars of the cell so strongly that they weakened and bent under his pressure. He lent into her face, poking his nose through the steel bars and giving her a look with his colorful eyes.

"What do you get?" Trunks almost scoffed. "Lady, you get to keep living."

Launch pulled back quickly from his statement. Of all the things that she'd expected him to say that had not been one of them. "Fine... whatever you want. Just let me out of here and we'll go." Trunks looked at the two of them for a moment, not caring whether he could trust them, just gaging how useful to him they would prove to be. He quickly disintegrated the doors with ease before Launch and Eighteen exited the dungeons ahead of Trunks, but neither dared to run. Launch had heard of the Legendary Super Saiyan and the damage that his power could do.

But she hadn't expected anyone but Vegeta to reach it first. However, was it so surprising that his spawn could? She looked over at Eighteen, the android was calm and collected even under this boy's hostile glare into their backs...

"We should go to the main hall; it has a large space, and that's what we'll need if we are going to accommodate the Eternal Dragon." Trunks said nothing to Launch's words, just allowed them to continue their path to the great hall. He had since dimmed his power back to it's normal level, but the foreboding of his potential was enough to thicken the air around the three.

--

Vegeta had been sitting along the wall in the infirmary, which looked thrashed and torn from the King's earlier rage.

He had torn a recovery chamber off the wall and stuck it against the doors: no one could come in until he was ready to face them all. But when would that be?

He finally looked again at the table where Bulma lay, her creamy hand still hanging off the edge from underneath the white sheet seeming as if it glowed from the overhead lights. The doctor had insisted that she be covered up right before Vegeta had thrown him from the room. The King drew his knees up towards his chest and rested his face in the hands that still bore Bulma's dried blood. He couldn't look at her. Not right now. Her body laying there lifeless was enough to tear him apart inside, sending chilling shivers of grief down his spine.

"_Bulma, what the hell are you doing? You could have been killed if I hadn't save you. Are you trying to get yourself killed?!_"

_She just stared at his eyes, liquid pooling at the base of her own. Vegeta had seen the reflection of appreciation in her eyes: appreciation of his love for her, that he was willing to admit that he loved her, now and forever. _

_'My name, you said it... Vegeta. You said it...' She thought to herself, closing her eyes with a smile gracing her rosy lips._

_Vegeta looked at her face, his brow furrowed. He somehow knew why she was smiling: her name. He would say it over and over if she would look at him like that every time. The King lent down to her face, her hands flying up to grasp his cheeks before she embraced him with her whole body. Vegeta had returned it wholeheartedly, not knowing that it would be the last time he hugged her like that._

He had promised himself he'd never let her fall... but he hadn't protected her like he should have. Now she was lying there, her warm skin getting colder by the minute. He picked up a small table next to him and threw it against the door, which finally gave way and crumbled into a heap blocking the room from the outside hallway. He walked over to the table, uncovering her head and looking at her face once more. The doctor had closed her eyes; it looked as if she was just sleeping. Her lips still has red as ever, he caressed one with his thumb, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead with his trembling lips.

He couldn't go on without her... there had to be a way to bring her back. He just couldn't--

Vegeta dropped to his knees, gasping out for breath as he grasped her lifeless hand and sank farther into realization. His breath was heavy, unsteady, his eyes wide and brows furrowed in an attempt to understand what was going on. He felt as if he was going to cry for the first time in years.

He was starting to let a tear slip down his cheek, when suddenly a colossal power level registered in his senses. Vegeta's head shot up and he stood, not letting go of Bulma's hand. Who was this coming from? He had to find out! He gave her hand one more kiss before throwing off the scrap metal blocking the door and rushing out. The doctor had been sitting in the hallway, having bandaged his wounds from earlier, and looked up as Vegeta exited the infirmary.

"Take care of her," Vegeta said, and rushed off towards the origin of such magnitude.

The doctor only stood and walked in, looking at the dead queen in sadness. He could only imagine what the King had to be going through. As he'd looked back, the Doctor had seen remnants of a tear on his face; it just wasn't fair.

--

On the way towards the dungeons, the King was stopped by the dungeon master, grabbing at his broken arm. "There was a blast in the dungeons; the only ones missing are Launch and Eighteen." Vegeta nodded and started off again before he was once again stopped by the Saiyan. "One more thing, there was a boy that entered right before the power levels spiked, I think he might be who did it." Before the man could finish the thought, Vegeta was bounding off towards the power level at a more furious speed.

'Trunks or Kakkarot's brat?' He kept thinking to himself. It had to be one of them, there were no other boys in the castle that he knew of that could make such a commotion – either one had the potential to exhibit that kind of power level. Selfishly, Vegeta hoped that it was his son, Trunks, that had reached it first. He would be the only person that Vegeta would ever allow overcome him.

--

Once they were in the hall, Trunks maximized the capsule again and threw the box at Launch. She looked at it, at the glory of the seven Dragonballs together, and raised her head. "I must know, what are you going to ask of the Eternal Dragon?"

Trunks frowned, "My mother... is dead." The boy looked down as he replied. "I can tell. Her ki no longer flares on my senses like it used to, and I can't tell its location. Something has happened to her." Launch couldn't help but gasp a little; what the hell had happened since she and Eighteen were locked in that cell? But at risk of making Trunks angry again, Launch decided to forgo asking too many questions about the Queen's fate.

"Fine, let's do this." Launch dumped the box of Dragonballs out of the box. As soon as they touched the floor together, the seven balls began to radiate with power, calling the dragon by themselves. 'So that's why we couldn't find the balls; Bulma had been masking their power until now – and now that they're out, they can call the dragon...' Launch was both confused and intrigued by the technology that Bulma had managed to create, and such a brilliant mind did not deserve to be cut so short. Launch decided that it was in her best interests to summon Shenlong, for her life and for Bulma's.

Where this new found empathy for the recently passed woman had come from, Launch couldn't recognize. But in her quest for the Dragonballs, Launch had always told herself that her Lord, Vegeta, would use their powers for a noble cause. What was more noble than saving the life of someone, enemy or no?

The balls continued to flash and flare out while the air inside the main hall darkened and became thick with electricity. Flashes of lightning struck around them as the wind picked up. The balls summoned all the power they could to blast a beam of pure yellow energy into the sky until they were blinded by it. And when they opened their eyes, miles and miles of green scales appeared to reveal a twisted dragon above them.

Red eyes bore into each and every one of them, even the hidden spectators.

--

Vegeta had showed up just as Shenlong was being summoned, revealing a different but no less powerful ki that again flooded his senses. In the main hall, he saw the Eternal Dragon hovering in the air above his son, the two female captives, and another female in the background.

"How did you get these Dragonballs?" Vegeta asked to no one in particular; he just wanted answers.

"I found them in a capsule in mother's blood." Trunks spoke up. Vegeta walked farther into the room to look at Trunks and then move his gaze to Launch. For a moment, his heart stopped beating before returning to a wild pace.

"You were telling the truth?" Launch nodded. "So she had them, was she really just using me for--"

"No!" Lynna hollered from the back of the room. "If I may, sire, you have it all wrong. My Lord, Bulma was not here to find the Dragonballs, she seriously did just fall in love with you... But when she saw that Launch had the Dragonballs, Bulma had already collected three of them. And when she realized that you had the others, we came here to get them."

"So she did come back just for the Dragonballs."

"Yes... and no, King Vegeta." Lynna approached the Saiyan, getting as close as she was comfortably able. "She wanted to see you, to tell you after all these years about Trunks and how she would rather be with you than anywhere else. And so she recovered the Dragonballs so that she could find a way to stay here with you." The entire listening crowd was confused, surprised, or just shocked; Vegeta was all of the above.

"She knew that Atrono would come for her eventually, and Trunks was in danger if he did. But Bulma didn't want that to happen. So she was going to ask Shenlong to find a way that she could stay with you, Vegeta." She looked at the floor and slowly moved her gaze to the glowing spheres on the floor, which became blurred with tears that clouded her eyes. "But I see that Atrono got to her first."

Vegeta nodded, he had smelled the weakling back where he found her. There was no question who had shot his mate, but that wasn't the end. Atrono was not going to get away so lucky. He was going to pay for this; Atrono had been a thorn in Vegeta's side ever since he'd fallen in love with Bulma. By Vegeta's hand, and only his, that weakling was going to die.

"Your wish please."

A deep voice reverberated throughout the room, and Launch could have sworn the building shook. Trunks turned to the Eternal Dragon, approaching him, "Shenlong, I wish for you to bring my mother back to life." The God floated for a moment, not saying anything, until the dragon's red eyes began to glow an ethereal hue and a beam shot out towards the insides of the castle. The dragon growled out his words, "You wish has been granted. Now I must go." And his body was once more engulfed in the pure yellow energy of the Dragonballs until he was no longer there.

In a flash, the air above them was clear and the space became as it was before. The area where the Dragonballs rested was clear, having been shot across the universe for years before they could be used again.

For a moment, the room was filled with complete silence until the entire group dashed off to see if Shenlong had gone through with it. With Vegeta in the lead, they all rushed towards the infirmary, Launch bringing up the rear.

Lynna walked another direction, knowing in her heart that Bulma was alive. She didn't have to see it to believe. But Atrono was in the castle somewhere, and she was bound determined to find him, to give the man to Vegeta and bring him to justice once and for all.

'Two Saiyans and an android... easy for them to run,' Launch huffed in her mind. Only the shred of Saiyan in her blood allowed her to keep up with their speed, and in less than a minute Vegeta entered the doctor's office; if he hadn't ruined the door earlier, he would have done it this time.

"Where is she." Vegeta demanded, noticing the empty examination table.

"I-I," the doctor stuttered for a moment before he gained his wits. Four people had just busted into his office... what was with business today? "I sent her body to the sanctuary. You told me to take care of her, Sir..." Vegeta just nodded and continued his quest for Bulma, trailing the other three.

"Where did they send her?" Trunks asked Eighteen as they followed the King; the woman just looked at him, stoic face, and continued on. She didn't know why she cared to follow these people, but the thought of the Dragonballs actually working was too much of a mystery for her not to investigate. Her hand touched the Dragonball radar stowed in her arm; this thing could pose useful in the years to come...

The doors of the sanctuary opened as they reached them, revealing Goku and Gohan trailing a hovering gurney behind them. "Where is my mother?" Trunks was tired of running around the castle on this seemingly wild goose chase; the palace was too large for such time wasting behavior. His ki began to rise in anger.

Goku stepped up, "We just left her on the alter of the sanctuary a few minutes ago." He waved his thumb behind him to the doors. Trunks rushed into the sanctuary, not caring that the Dragonballs worked, just (in moments of weakness) wanting to see his mother alive again. He did not yet know his father, but he was beginning to. However, being without his mother on this planet was not the transition he was looking for. "My Lord," Goku began. "What's all this?" He half motioned to the gang of people with Vegeta, who normally avoided being around more than one person at a time when he could.

--

Trunks raced down the isle towards the front of the church. He was quite annoyed with the size of the sanctuary, though he might have (under normal circumstances) been impressed with the attention to detail in its elegant design.

"Mom?" Trunks asked, the voice echoed off empty walls.

Now where was she?

--

Bulma had ultimately woken up in a shocking setting; her mind was fuzzy and the soreness in her head and torso was puzzling.

When she'd opened her eyes, Bulma's visage was of a dim 'chapel-like' area, but after blinking and rubbing her eyes, all began to clear. As she tried to rise from her horizontal position, Bulma barely managed to catch her balance as all she could do was double over in a painful coughing fit. It was as if air was just now filling her lungs after years of not breathing. She huffed, panted, and finally managed to get her breathing in order, but not the pain in her side.

It was a throbbing pain, not severe but more a displeasing pinch. As she sat on edge of the alter, grabbing her side and wondering where exactly she was, Bulma looked down her dress. Now she knew that this had to be a hallucination; the gore that coated her dress was something she'd remember getting on her, especially when she wasn't even wounded... was she? Her hands fingered the small holes in the fabric, admiring the shape of the punctures: perfect circles… 'What kind of tool made these?' She rubbed over her smooth, unbroken skin underneath. It couldn't be her blood, could it?

Bulma cupped her head, not forgetting about the resonating malady which ruled in her cerebrum. She must have bumped it or something. The queen tried to slip lightly off the table, touching her feet to the ground, but the appendages were unable to hold her weight and she swooped to the floor. "Ugh…" She groaned, in a state of pure restlessness as she tried her best to get on two feet.

Once the feeling had come back in her legs, she grounded her hands on the marble flooring and steadied herself upright. "What a sight I must look like," Bulma mumbled to herself. As she walked to the right, she evaluated that this had to be some kind of sanctuary, the bold surroundings all but exclaiming its function.

" What the hell is going on with me?" Bulma crossed to the first door she saw: a dark, small, side door to the right of the alter. When she timidly turned the handle, Bulma noticed that it led to an even darker place; she had a few reservations about going in, but when various voices flooded in through what she assumed was the front door a few minutes later, she bolted in fear. Fear of what? She didn't know, but while her brain was rebooting, she suddenly had an image of a man with a voice as deep as her hatred and fear for him. It was an image of a man with a gun; someone she'd been running from.

Bulma followed the wall to an exit that opened to a corridor off of a bright hallway. The overhead lights that flooded into the dim area she occupied brought something back to her... "Atrono, he--" She grabbed her both sides of her head once more – the pain was slowly subsiding now that she was up and about, but there was something on the tip of her tongue, something important.

A flash before her eyes: blood... not just blood, a smeared pool of it.

"That bastard!" Bulma yelled almost at the top of her lungs. 'He... he tried to kill me!' Bulma paced along the corridor, eyes widening by the second. 'Wait, he – Atrono _did_ kill me!' Bulma shook her head in disgust; she wasn't able to totally recall everything that happened whenever it did. But if her memory served her, if she remembered dying, then why was she alive now?

By the time Bulma headed towards the docks, she had gotten a good chunk of her memory back; they say when you have a traumatic experience you block it out and there's a small chance you'll never regain your memory. This was not one of those times. And even if she couldn't remember anything up to this point, the sight of her own blood on the hall floor would have been enough to bring things into perspective again. Yep, there was no way she could have survived losing the amount of blood that coated the floor.

'Why haven't they cleaned this up yet?!' The queen couldn't help but feel a little offended at the thought.

--

"I need a weapon; I need a weapon," Bulma mumbled as she headed towards her destination. Anything would do, so long as it was effective. Something sharp, pointy at one end – heck even something blunt would do the trick if she was given the chance to drive it into Atrono's chest. And she knew just where she could easily get her hands on something lethal.

The entrance to the docking area had doors that were large, heavy, and thick enough to knock out the modulation that never seemed to cease in the open encasement. The newly risen Queen headed towards the docks knowing that there multiple people in that room that were usually heavily armed.

As she entered, Yamcha had to double take at her appearance. "What's happened to you, Bulma?" he motioned towards the bloodstains and holes in her dress – not to mention the less than flattering sanguine in her hair.

"It's really a long story; right now, I just need a weapon." Yamcha's eyebrows shot up behind his bangs.

"Um, I'll go see what I can find." He walked off mumbling something along the lines of, 'I don't think I want to know, but I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later anyway.'

Bulma crossed her fingers that he would make haste in the matter; Trunks was with his father, so Bulma knew that he would be fine, but she wanted to be able to protect him, and keep herself from getting killed this time. And if that meant killing him first, she was all up for it. It was just a matter of time before he did something incredibly stupid. She suddenly spied a space craft that she recognized as Atrono's. It was quite fast, no wonder they managed to get to Vegeta-sei in just a few hours. Bulma noticed some movement within it out of the corner of her eye.

Someone was in the ship; Bulma just hoped it was her husband.

When Yamcha returned with some very unfamiliar weapon, she grabbed it and bolted towards the ship. Marco, who had seen her coming from the distance, tried to climb out of the ship and escape her wrath before she could reach it, but alas, it was futile. The Queen grabbed onto the collar of his uniform and jerked him back.

"Hi, Marco. It's so lovely to see you again," Bulma smiled in an unsavoredly (yet almost sweet) way. She tugged him back to her again almost choking him in the process. "Now, where is my husband?"

Marco shook his head, "I don't know, My Lady. He just told me to wait with the ship and that he would be back with Trunks." She placed the weapon against his side, hoping that she was using it the correct way. By the way Yamcha was looking at her, probably not. But she'd figure it out eventually.

"Did he say anything about killing me?" Bulma asked fervently in his ear. He whimpered and shook his head, drawing even more attention to the two of them from workers in the area. Yamcha just turned another cheek and went back to work. He would almost feel sorry for what Bulma was probably going to do to the young boy, but knowing that woman... the boy probably deserved it in some way or another. He just pulled his mask down and begin welding again.

"Well, we're going to find him then, aren't we?" And slowly she navigated him to the doors, weapon still pressed to him. She didn't want to kill Marco; he was about Lynna's age and had no business doing any of Atrono's bidding, but if he resisted too much, Bulma wouldn't put it past herself to use force.

If she could just casually figure out how this stupid gun worked.

--

Atrono skulked along the edged of the walls, poised for an attack around every corner. He had no idea how he was going to find the brat, but taking the boy back with him was going to be his final act of vengeance against Bulma and this wretched planet.

As a King, Atrono was used to being obeyed in every sense of the word – but with Bulma's betrayal, he was forced to set an example with her death.

And he was right to be on his guard for he was currently the most wanted man in this building. He made his way slowly through the palace, winding and weaving through it's maze-like twist and turns. He had his gun reloaded and pointed out in front of him, looking every which way around him. It wasn't that he was too careful, but more weary than anything, weary of what King Vegeta was capable.

He'd heard of how brutal the Saiyan race could be.

--

"She's not here," Trunks moaned. His father had entered with Goku and the others shortly after he'd discovered an empty sanctuary.

'Bulma, where the hell are you?' Vegeta growled to himself. She had to know that he was worried about her; why wasn't she staying in once place waiting for him to come find her? He couldn't even feel her ki yet, but he was certain it would appear soon enough. Was she looking for him as well or --

"Everyone, split up and search the entire castle! I want her found!" Goku sensed the alarm in his voice and threw a worried glance towards his friend. "Ugh, do I have to spell it out for you? That woman is so stubborn that she would just _have_ to go out after that idiot Atrono by herself! If she gets herself killed this time, it's going to be years before the Dragonballs regenerate and we might never get to see her alive again." Launch wondered how Vegeta knew so much about the Dragonballs but instead paused to think about Bulma's actions. It made perfect sense to the entire congregation, for it was in Bulma's nature to take matters into her own hands.

Launch stood in the back of the church away from the others; she'd helped Bulma enough already, and even then it hurt to see Vegeta so concerned about someone else. Why her? Why Bulma, Launch had been on Vegeta-sei the entire time, and that woman just comes waltzing in on a _visit_ and suddenly he's in love with her?

The blue-haired girl sulked out the front doors unnoticed by the others. Forget Vegeta, forget Bulma, even forget Eighteen; they weren't looking out for her. She was leaving, destined somewhere far away from all these people. Launch had no home, save Vegeta-sei, but if she was always going to be second best to Bulma, then it seemed there wasn't much of a choice in her case.

The maiden walked down the hall, hoping secretly that they did eventually find Bulma before Atrono did, but she vowed not to have a hand in it if she could so choose. Unfortunately, Launch was in the wrong place at the wrong time for such a vow to be made. A rustle of colliding voices threw Launch back behind the corner she was about to turn and suddenly peeked out to see the very object of her chagrin. In her reverie, Launch had seemingly stumbled upon Bulma holding a blaster the wrong way against a poor teenage boy's side as they walked away from the shipping area. Most of the things Bulma asked the boy were about her soon-to-be ex-husband; at least, Launch assumed they wouldn't be able to patch things up after this...

It seemed Vegeta had been correct; Bulma's first waking thought had been to go after the man that took her life.

Launch scoffed; the woman was either really smart or really stupid. She might have normally ducked behind the corner wall to avoid being spotted by the queen; instead she walked out into full view.

For a moment, Bulma didn't seem to notice Launch standing there, for Marco's head was in the way. But Launch was finally greeted with the Queen's scowl. "Now, who let you out of your cage, Launch?"

"Your son, as a matter of fact." That was obviously not what Bulma was expecting to hear. All she could do was frown deeper and attempt to walk past. "Is that any way to treat someone who helped bring you back to life?"

Bulma instantly got the reference to the Dragonballs and her hand flew from her grip on Marco's arm to the pocket on the inside of her dress – at least there used to be a pocket there… now it was just hanging open, ripped from the seams by the bullets that tore her dress. "You stole—"

"Oh relax; I stole nothing from you. It's that boy of yours; he's brilliant just like his mother I suppose. He busted me out of jail because he knew that I had information about the Dragonballs and then we both used them to bring you back to life."

Launch, finally tiring of watching Bulma hold the gun wrong, approached the girl and motioned towards it. The girl's grip on the weapon tightened – not taking any chances as her once rival reached for it.

"Don't flatter yourself; if I wanted you dead, I would never have helped summon the Dragon in the first place. And I can't think of any reason why I would possibly want you as a hostage." Launch grabbed the blaster and faced it the correct way in Bulma's hand. Marco sweatdropped; it figured, the perfect time to get away had passed – and it was all his fault for assuming Queen Bulma know how to wield the damn thing…

Bulma shot Launch a look, which the other girl gladly returned. Although Bulma was glad she could now use the weapon in her possession, she was equally angered that Launch was the one who had corrected to mistake.

--

Atrono would gladly admit to anyone that he was completely lost if they might just show him the way back to the docking area. But the King didn't see that kind of courtesy being bestowed around here on someone like him. Unfortunately, he had realized much too late that with his killing Bulma, the famed King Vegeta would eventually show himself and that Atrono probably could have waited at the ship. It was too much trouble to have to search out the boy himself when the only person standing in his way would come straight to him.

He cocked his gun once more, checking to charge to make sure it was ready to fire at a moment's notice. The King of Vegeta-sei, it was rumored, had some kind of crazy, magic powers, "but he's no match for a speeding bullet through his heart, I'd wager."

All in all, Atrono couldn't much figure out where this seed of malice planted in his veins had come from. He was normally a very passive man, but that was probably the reason that Bulma sought out Vegeta in the first place… that is if she was the one who originally did the seeking. Of that fact, he could not be sure. The shock of her estrangement had been enough to tear him apart inside, let alone the anger that had fueled his willpower from finding out that Trunks was not his own flesh and blood. He had loved Bulma, and she had hurt him. So the only way that he could seek retribution for his own heart was to hurt her as well. Emotionally, he had meant from the beginning, but the coldness of her eyes over the tele-com as well as their defiance when held at gunpoint had driven him to just pull the trigger.

He had become something that he was not, something he didn't recognize. And now it was kill or be killed; he wasn't going to be safe until Trunks and he were back home.

He turned around and retraced his steps back towards his ship hoping that Marco hadn't been stupid enough to get caught.

--

"My Queen, you have a weapon and my word – I will not try to escape. You're starting to cut off circulation!" Bulma finally let him go, tired of his badgering. But she was careful enough to keep the gun on him should he try to run in the few seconds after she let him go. Launch looked at the dark-haired wide eyed boy standing between them so perfectly tall and awkwardly lanky for such a teenager. How had someone like him become Atrono's right hand person? Launch would only assume that it was due to the King's lack of common sense in picking a useful economics advisor.

"Just where exactly were you headed, Bulma? Even you should know that Vegeta has been scouring the entire castle for you." The matriarch looked puzzled; could he not just track her by her ki? Bulma didn't exactly know how that worked, but he'd always done it in the past. Launch expected her companion's expression, "Even standing that close to you, my Saiyan senses can usually pick up anyone's signal; but I can barely register you. It must have something to do with Shenlong and the mystery of the Dragonballs. You were regenerated instantly, but it seems that details like that are coming back more slowly."

While Launch pondered her enigma, Bulma wondered for the first time what exactly she was going to do when she found Atrono. Could she kill her husband? Was it in her blood to kill anyone, especially someone she'd shared how many years of her life with? Vegeta would-- that circumstance was indisputable. As much as she now had a deep loathing for him, Bulma couldn't see herself actually taking Atrono's life like he had stolen hers.

However, could Bulma, in all good conscience, let Vegeta kill him?

Would she even have a choice in the matter?

She didn't really know. It all depended on the time and place that they had their inevitable encounter. He husband-- Hey, she was dead as far as he knew, and if he died... either way she was technically no longer married to him. Launch just stared at the Queen's grinning face for a minute, slight abhorrence on her own, 'Humans.'

"Let's go, _your highness_. If we're going to find Atrono then we'd better start searching, for it'll take forever to scour even just the public parts of this fortress." Marco began to follow Launch, careful to not make any sudden movements as to not get shot.

"And why do you suddenly feel the need to help me out?" Bulma strode alongside her would-be friend who just shrugged at the question.

"I really don't know. I should hate you, but I just don't think I have it in my anymore. I'm a bitch, and I think I will always be one to everyone who gets in my way. I'd like to think that was one of my better qualities, guess I can't be the judge. But I can no longer fight with you over someone when he just doesn't care for me." The long-haired nomad stared ahead during her confession until she slightly turned her head to see Bulma smiling with some kind of look on her face. She kept walking, "This doesn't mean we're friends, you know!" And she sped ahead of the other two, a blush on her face.

'Whatever you say...' Bulma kept smirking. If everything worked out in her favor, she had an idea for Launch.

--

Bulma kept walking, her mind turning to Vegeta; was he looking for her, as Launch said? It didn't seem like it would be that hard to find her, but she was always on the move and Bulma never realized just how big the mansion was. 'Vegeta...Even you should be able to find me without feeling my ki. We're mates, remember?'

"There!" Vegeta pointed to another part of the palace. "I felt her ki flare up for a second."

Trunks and Goku both turned to Vegeta. "You mean it's gone now?" the dark-haired man asked. Goku couldn't imagine a ki signal that was there one moment and vanished another. How the Dragon had risen Bulma, he would always wonder. What eternal power must have been required: one so large that Goku could barely fathom.

" Yes, it's gone, yet it wa s there long enough for me to notice it. It's slightly changed, different than it used to be, but I know it's her. Vegeta sniffed the air again, closed his eyes, and thought that if he concentrated on it enough it might appear again. Alas, it was no use.

"Let's head towards it. Mom's likely to be on the move, and she can usually get herself into trouble easily. You said it was towards North Wing, right?"Trunks ran down the corridor ahead of the other two, almost bounding off the walls from his speed.

'He's quite head strong, like his dad, and he's completely brilliant like his mother. Trunks is going to make an excellent King someday.'

Bulma just kept thinking about her love, her King, 'Where the hell are you?' Forget tender thoughts for your man, she was a little ticked that he hadn't tracked her down by then. Her eyebrow twitched a little.

"It's back, quite stronger this time. Her ki's almost burning my senses." Vegeta felt confused for a moment.

"Bulma! I felt your ki! But it's not so powerful now, and I'm standing close to you." Launch stopped walking altogether. "What were you just thinking about?"

"Um," Bulma blushed. Launch wasn't sure she wanted to know. "Well, I was just thinking about Vegeta – I was a little mad for a second that he hasn't found me by now."

"There it was again." Launch had felt it, that was for sure. And her Saiyan blood was so diluted that she wasn't able to track ki very easily and over large distances, so for Bulma to be able to project so loudly was new progress. "Talk about Vegeta."

"O-kay... Well, he's kinda short, has weird hair, and is King--"

"No, it's not doing the same thing. What else?"

"He's sweet, but temperamental at times. He treats me like I'm a piece of glass, and I think he resents me a little for not telling him about Trunks sooner. He's a hardhead--"

"There it is!" Launch all but yelled. Was her ki getting stronger as she let out steam? No, it was only talking about Vegeta. The mating bond between them was something Launch could comprehend, but there were obviously some other perks as well. "Keep going!"

Vegeta suddenly bolted in front of Goku and Trunks, who looked at each other before running after him. He could feel it now, powerful as it was. She was there, not far in front of him, only a few more hallways to go and she would be once again in his sight: living, breathing, as beautiful as smart.

But he skidded to a stop. There were two hallways front of him. Bulma was down one.... but the other held a scent that he recognized all too well.

"Dad?"

"Keep heading down there, you'll see Bulma soon enough. I smell a rat down this one."

"Atrono's down there?" Goku asked. Vegeta nodded.

"But if he's down there, I want to go with you."

"No, son. Go take care of your mother. Find me later." At Trunks' face he said, "That's an order."

--

Tsuyoku: I'm going to end it here, but chapter ten's going to be up in no time. I know what's going to happen, and I believe that ten is going to be the last actual chapter, but I'm going to make an epilogue. Hope to get some reviews on this one, let me know what you think. It's a long chapter, and a bunch of little things happen, which is why I'm happy to go ahead and post it. As the story is coming along (and approaching an end) I'd like to go ahead and 'pre-thank' all my readers and reviewers for all their encouragement and support. R&R, and I'll be glad to update! ^.^


	10. Can I Keep You?

Tsuyoku: OMG, I cannot believe that I've let myself go so long without posting. So many things have happened with my life that I would never have believed I'd be in a completely different place than this time last year. But alas, things have changed, and I know I've neglected you, my dear readers. That's why I've been writing this on computer paper during my spare time at work and jotting some parts down through my notes during class (hope the professors don't notice!) But here it is, definitely wrapping up this portion of the fic, but who knows, I think I see a little bit more plot here. In that case, there are going to be more chapters than I had originally thought.

Enough of this, please scroll to the good stuff!

Tempt of Fate: Chapter Ten

"… _the wife of the Lord of Men, he confirmed his resolve to take her by force, and with that consigned himself to death." ~ Ramayana._

--

Atrono knelt to the ground, breathing and panting as he was held in place by a very forceful hand. Vegeta kept his rage in check for the moment, reveling at the fact that the weakling was finally within his grasp. He noticed how Atrono's light, graying hair threaded through his tan hand which pulsed with energy. He could feel the sparks hover around them, crackling like static before a storm. For now the man was alive for one reason: the woman, his woman. She was the one to decide what happened to him as much as it pained Vegeta to think that she would let the weakling live out of the kindness of her heart.

"Even if you're not with me, I'm with you, Woman. I have to do this."

Bulma's mouth opened and closed a few times, unable to say what she wanted. Did Atrono deserve to die at the hands of Vegeta's wrath? The blue-haired woman couldn't be sure. Could he be forgiven for shooting her, taking her life, and threatening to kidnap her son? She realized that no matter what she wished of Atrono, Vegeta was going to destroy the frightened King because he had dared to hurt her, Vegeta's mate. Bulma didn't know what to say. The thought of Atrono did nothing but bring back the pain in her abdomen, pulsing and throbbing as he looked at her. His eyes had the audacity to plead for his life, especially since he'd recovered from the initial shock that she was once again alive due to the Dragonballs. It infuriated her that she still held pity for him.

"I don't belong to you anymore, Atrono, and neither does Trunks. I don't know if we ever did. You've done harm to me, promised to take my child from me, and threatened the very chance I have here on this planet with the one man I have ever loved. How I can still feel sorry for you is completely beyond me." For a moment everything was still and silent. Bulma looked at her lover, at the weakling he held in his grasp, and at Trunks and the others that stood near the wall behind her. When Trunks had found her, Bulma had been so overjoyed that he was alright that she'd almost forgotten completely about searching for Atrono. But when her son had told her that Vegeta was on the war path, she found it her duty to search the halls and find them before any battle ensued. And when she'd finally found her mate, he'd been poised to kill Atrono and anything that tried to stop him.

"Is there anything you want to say, Atrono?" Bulma had just been trying to buy time. She wasn't sure Atrono should die, but as well she wasn't sure if having him alive was that great of an idea either.

"Only this, you traitorous woman: I may be about to die… but I can sure as hell take you with me. And if I shot you again there would be no magic balls to bring you back." His hand that rested on the floor near his ankle reached up above his boot and grabbed a small, but effective looking old-fashioned pistol. It was a mistake on his part, for daring to point a gun at the mate of the Saiyan King was condemning oneself to death.

Atrono hadn't time to even squeeze the trigger before Vegeta let loose a stream of energy through the back of the King's head that was enough to shoot the life out of him. His limp body fell to the ground, and before Vegeta could think to disintegrate it all Lynna gently grabbed his arm with her soft hands and announced that a body was needed for the kingdom back home. No matter, Vegeta was satisfied that King Atrono was no more.

All the while Bulma was still shaking and staring at the warm spot on the floor where Atrono had knelt. He'd pleaded with his eyes for mercy which in the end she hadn't granted him. It was the second time that day a gun had been pointed at her with intent to kill, and for that Atrono died a coward and a murderer. "Vegeta," Bulma whispered as the King turned to her and enveloped his mate with large arms. He looked into his eyes, asking that she understand his unspoken request.

"I agree," her eyes downcast for a moment and she sunk into his embrace. "We need to talk about a few things alone right now." Bulma was lifted up, and as fast as she'd ever gone before, Vegeta rushed her to the King's wing of the palace and into his room. She stood in the center of the room, and Vegeta fell to his knees and burrowed his face into her stomach. He hugged her close with all his might and whispered into the almost pitch dark of the room, "Bulma, don't you dare die on me again."

Her hands enclosed his head, threading them through his hair and held them while she heaved the air slightly and tried not to break down and cry. It felt like so long since she'd been so personal with her King, so long since they'd had a moment… The strength left her legs and instead of holding her up, Vegeta let her slide to the floor and sit with him. Bulma was surprised since she'd never seen Vegeta so affectionate, so tender with her. Even when they were making love he had never been so caring with her or delicate. Did he think she was going to shatter?

"I'm not a figment of your imagination, my King. I'm here, I'm alive, and I'm not going anywhere." Her hands guided his face to look her in the eye, worried at his out-of-character behavior. "Please, Vegeta, say something."

"You're never going to leave me. Never again will you leave this planet, leave my side."

Bulma's heart skipped a beat. That was precisely what she wanted to talk to him about. "Anything but that. Don't say that. I can't stay…" His face took on an angered expression. "With Atrono gone, I'm in control of my kingdom. There's no one else to take control, and I have no choice but to go back."

He immediately rejected her grasp and stood from the floor. Even though her eyes had adjusted to the dark, Bulma wasn't able to make out the expression on his face from so far away. It worried her. She wasn't going to lose him because of her duty to her country, was she?

"You must understand; you're a King. What if you were in my position: standing by as your kingdom lost its control…?" Bulma was almost too afraid to ask. Her hands wrung themselves, nervousness taking over her body.

" If I was in your position, _Woman_, I would take our mating bond more seriously. It's a greater force than you can imagine, for no Saiyan bond is stronger." It was his self-righteous attitude again, one thing about the man that Bulma was not so fond of. Was he trying to set her off?

"No, Vegeta, I don't believe you." She stood up trying to be on his level, but failing as still had a height advantage. "You wouldn't do it, leave your kingdom without any leadership. I don't know much about this mating bond that we have between us. All I know is that I can feel it. I can feel it pull me to you wherever you are because it's like a gut instinct to me now. But you you need to understand that my gut's also telling me that I have a responsibility to my people. And if that means I have to deny that feeling in my heart pulling me to you for however long it takes me to straighten things out, then I'm afraid I have to." She teared up, heaving the air once again and hoping that Vegeta might see how she felt. "You mean the world to me, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, but-"

"Silence. You say there's nothing you wouldn't do for me, but you insist on denying me your presence when I ask. I've lost you once to that planet, twice to that King already. Many times I have let you go hoping inside with every piece of me that you return to my side, and yet you still maintain this responsibility to something else..." He walked right past her toward the window, staring at the piece of ground where he'd caught her after she'd leaped toward her death. She had tried so hard to prove that he loved her no matter what, did that mean nothing to her now?

Without turning he said, "You are in this bond as well. It cannot be broken, and I will not allow you to leave me once more."

"This bond?!" Bulma shouted without thinking. "Vegeta, this is a bond that I never asked for... It came about when you seduced me in the hallways; it came from out lust for each other. I love you with all my heart now, but when I found out that we were mated to each other for life, I felt robbed, lied to, betrayed..." He remained still for all she could see from the back, and if anything his muscles became a little more taught but no reaction. She took one step toward him tentatively, testing the waters so to speak, but nothing. Two steps and still the King had yet to react to her words, motions, anything. "Vegeta-"

"Get out."

Bulma froze. One step back, two steps. "What?"

"I'm not repeating myself. You have made your choice, and voiced that you no longer want this bond between us. And since you no longer want it, there's nothing I can do. You may break it if your feelings of disdain are strong enough."

Bulma sighed letting all the air escape from her lungs. This tone... it was a tone he'd never addressed her with; instead he saved it for those idiotic diplomats that he absolutely hated dealing with. Bulma feared that she'd screwed everything up. "Vegeta, if you're just let me speak. I said it was only in the beginning that I was uncomfortable with this bond. I hadn't been told that it would happen; I hadn't been asked..."

Vegeta still hadn't turned around. In fact he had yet to acknowledge her words at all, but Bulma wasn't about to leave without him saying something. These could be the last words that hung between them before she left for her kingdom. Vegeta, however, was perfectly fine with the idea of her leaving then and there. He wasn't about to let her know how what she said cut right into him and left a scar that rivaled anything he'd experienced on the battlefield. "You see, Woman, the stipulation of this bond id that both people must have their hearts fully into it for it to ever manifest." He finally turned his head to look at her before his whole body followed. "You I don't believe that you weren't asked. You didn't need to be, Woman. Don't deny this between us. To deny it could be the end for us both."

"What?" Bulma furrowed her eyebrows.

"To deny the... love... that you feel for someone, no matter who you are," Vegeta stared at her; his eyes glowed in the moonlight coming through the far window, "is stupid. What we have between us means something and if your try to deny it, we'll die."

"But I'm not denying that I love you, Vegeta. I'll admit it to anyone. I love you and I know that you love me just as much because if you didn't I'd have died on that grass out there." She reached out her arm to caress his face but stopped halfway there. It would just make leaving for even such a short time harder on her. "I'll be back. I promise. Please say you;ll let me go do this; I have to do it for my people. And when things are settled, I'll be back in this very room to never leaver you side again."

The King turned away again. "Fine. Leave. I don't care anymore."

"But I know-"

"Leave!" It almost echoed in the room, throughout the hallways, and in her heart.

_Why doesn't he understand that I'm not leaving him for good? Has he heard a word I've said_?Bulma backed up to the door. Maybe if she gave him some time to let off the steam everything would be back to normal once she returned. _I love you, Vegeta. And I wouldn't—couldn't deny it at all_...

"Guess I'll be going then..." She started for the door barely able to choke back a sob, but the last thing Vegeta needed was to see her cry. "Trunks and I will be leaving shortly." She wanted to add once more that she wouldn't be long getting back, just as long as things went smoothly, but decided against it. She'd told him so many times already, but he didn't seem to hear a word of it.

–

"So he wouldn't even say anything as you walked out?" Chi Chi asked. She was infuriated at the King's actions, but then again Chi Chi had always been the type of woman to take things personally even if they didn't concern her.

"No," Bulma sighed. She'd only stopped by to get Trunks and say goodbye to her friend before taking off, but she ended up spilling everything once Chi Chi asked her if everything was alright. What was it about that question that makes anyone on the verge of crying to suddenly break down and sob uncontrollably. Trunks wandered out of Goten's room with a sad look on his face. "Trunks, honey, don't look so forlorn. We're coming back soon. I just have to get everything settled there since Atrono's... Well, our kingdom needs a leader right now." She rose and looked at Chi Chi, "I wish someone would respect that I have a responsibility there just as much as I have one here."

Chi Chi nodded, "Vegeta will change his mind as soon as you come back." Her hand appeared on Bulma's shoulder. "Here, let me walk you to your ship."

–

Being in the ship was a blast to the past for Bulma. She hadn't been back on Vegeta-sei for very long, but it seemed like ages since she'd traveled as fast as possible toward the remaining Dragonballs. It was nice to have Trunks going with her. When Launch brought him to Vegeta-sei, she was worried what he'd gone through on the voyage, but Bulma was convinced that having him travel with her to their home planet was a good thing. It would give him a good idea of how their politics worked and how she would be able to wrap things up with it all.

But then came the other question of how she was going to do this. Vegeta was right to worry about her return. Bulma wasn't quite sure how she was going to go about putting someone else on the throne or if the Alliance was going to force her to take control of everything in her husband's absence.

_How am I going to explain Atrono's disappearance_ ?!

Bulma hadn't even thought about that. But she supposed Lynna was going to have to help her think of something while they were on the trip back.

Meanwhile, said girl was helping Bulma gather Trunks and Marco into the ship while Bulma stood in the docking bay looking around. Yamcha hovered among the other ships, smearing grease on his pants and smiling sadly at her. He waved as he walked toward her.

"Miss Bulma, I'm sad to see you go."

"Yamcha, I'm coming back. I don't know why everyone is taking this business trip as a permanent position. It's infuriating!" She sighed and leaned on the ship frustrated.

"Yeah, but who knows. The last time you left was for years. Maybe everyone's afraid that you'll be detained there and won't be able to return? I don't know. But I agree that everyone has a little right to be worried. What about the Alliance? They won't be too pleased at having a missing monarch on their hands..."

"Don't remind me... But I'm going to deal with that when I get back and no sooner. For now I want to enjoy my last few minutes on Vegeta-sei before going back." Bulma said nonchalantly while looking around the docking bay.

Yamcha smiled, "Don't fret, Bulma. He's going to show. There's no way that the King of Vegeta-sei would miss seeing his mate off of all people, especially when it's common knowledge around here that you two are fated together." Bulma nodded as he walked back to work; she just hoped that he was right.

There was just something about his last words to her and the fact that there was still unfinished business between them that left her lacking. Bulma could feel the pull on her abdomen that lured her to Vegeta, and she knew he was somewhere in the same wing of the castle, but beyond that Bulma was drawing a blank. Why wasn't he there like Yamcha said he would be? Vegeta wasn't going to miss her takeoff was he?

"Oh, Lynna, where the hell is he?" The young woman was just coming off the ramp of their ship when Bulma approached her. She sweat dropped. Seriously those two needed a good piece of time together. Vegeta and Bulma hadn't had a romantic moment together for some time, especially since Bulma's death. "I swear if he doesn't come say goodbye, I'll-"

"You'll what, Woman?"

The deep voice reverberated through her body, and the familiar pull in her abdomen produced a warm, fuzzy feeling. Immediately she stopped her thought. "Um, nothing..." Bulma resisted the urge to throw her arms around his neck and faced him all the way. He still had a partial scowl on his face which reminded her of their little disagreement earlier... but she was determined to forget about their harsh words and start over again. She bent her head toward his chest and lowered her eyes. "I'm glad you came, Vegeta." She knew he would be the only one to hear her.

Vegeta was glad to see that she was putting their little tiff behind her, and especially proud of her observation of time and place when saying affectionate things to him. Bulma was just as much Queen as she was Woman; obviously she knew how to handle herself. Maybe letting her go perform her duties was the right thing to do. "I am," he said lowly, "hesitant to let you leave my side. I've lost you to death. I've lost you to politics before... A King must be there for his Queen."

Bulma touched his chest with her delicate hand and whispered, "Why can't it be 'A man must be there for the woman he loves?' Do you mean what you say about keeping me by your side?"

Vegeta looked at her oddly for a moment, raising his eyebrow at her question. "Of course."

"Good." She smiled.

–

"Are you sure about this, my Lord?" Goku asked. It wasn't like him to make such rash decisions, but then again the King had changed quite a lot since he met Bulma.

"You are the command in my absence, Kakkarot. I expect a full report when I get back, and should anything happen you are to report it to me immediately through any means." Vegeta wasn't keen to being questioned about things, especially when his mind was already made up. Goku bowed as Vegeta turned and walked up the ramp to Bulma's ship. Chi Chi stood next to her husband and waved goodbye to the band of visitors and her King. She sighed inside; everything was going to be so quiet with all of them gone.

Vegeta took a seat toward the back of the ship and out of the way of his son and the nanny and that dweeb that once served Atrono. He preferred to be in his own space with Bulma close by and no one else. Once she was seated across the space from him, he sunk slightly (but not enough for anyone else to notice) into the plus cushion and allowed himself a moment to relax. "I never thought I'd be in the situation to follow a woman somewhere..." Vegeta said while looking out the window. He hadn't been in the black void among the space and stars in such a long time as he was used to politicians traveling to him when treaties were considered and not the other way around.

"But you're not following me, Vegeta. You're going with me; there's a significant difference. Besides, this way you will remain by my side most of the time." Bulma smiles. She was ecstatic that he was going with her. Having a king such as Vegeta vouch as to what happened to Atrono would be all the more believed among the people, especially since they'd been on good terms with Vegeta-sei for some time now.

"True. Have you though much about what you're going to do when we arrive? That weakling will certainly be missed among the people."

"I was just thinking of that actually." Bulma rubbed her temples. She'd known that because of his actions, Atrono was going to die. Hell, she'd be lying if she said that it was her wish at one time as well. But what Bulma hadn't realized was how much it was going to be a pain explaining it. She couldn't very well walk off her ship with her husband's body and Vegeta in tow just to turn around and announced that he was the very person who killed the King. The would be a riot among the people... and as selfish as it was, she didn't want the citizens that she loved so dearly to think ill of her. "I guess it's just going to come down to what I can tell the people of my kingdom that they will believe. Atrono doesn't need to be portrayed in a bad light even after his death. Launch greatly injured Atrono when she took Trunks from the palace," Bulma said noticing the scowl that deepened on the King's face, "so for all they know he could have passed away due to injuries sustained through that fight."

"Won't the public want his killer brought to justice?"

Bulma nodded, "that's where you come in, Vegeta darling. You're going to be the big, bad King who rushed in to save the day and ended up frying the bad guy. How does that sound?" She smiled.

His eyebrow raised, "as long as you don't phrase it like that."

"Promise." Her hand raised in a mock swear.

–

They docked in the royal port after Bulma confirmed her identity over the communicator. She stood near the door getting ready for it to open up and reveal her home planet to Vegeta. She sighed as she looked at the hover cart for Atrono's body floating listlessly beside her, and before she could stop them, her eyes watered and mouth jiggled.

There was a person dead next to her because of her stupid, selfish actions. Sure, Atrono had not been entirely faultless in this, but Bulma knew that she'd held a portion of the blame. Had he not been a kind man to her in their marriage? Yes, he had been. Killing her, trying to take her son, and fighting for his pride on an alien planet had just been his last leg. It was something anyone would do when they realized they had nothing left... if they'd had anything before, that is.

The blue-haired woman couldn't really fathom why she was suddenly feeling like that. Of course, she would admit that it was the perfect time for her to show remorse: as she was about to play the sorrowful, widowed queen. How pathetic.

The doors of the ship unpressurized and opened before her with a hiss revealing a full posse of court folk and even an member of the council alliance, Vellutini. "My lady! We are relieved to have you back here. The absence of our King and Queen was felt by all within the castle!" one of the servants said as he took her hand and helped her down the ramp.

Once on ground level, the Vellutini walked over to her with an air of confidence and power, "Lady Bulma, I trust you traveled well." He bowed slightly and looked behind her. Anyone else in the ship had yet to exit, but he waited for the King to come down the ramp as well. Bulma mentally shook her head. Now was as best a time as ever to get him alone and explain anything and everything that happened... whatever her story would be. Whatever it was, Bulma knew that she was covering her own ass on this one. "Where is the King, my Lady? I have much to discuss with him."

Of course he would; the man never left Atrono alone. That particular council member had been on their planet and in their kingdom enough over the years to watch Trunks grow within her, be born, and grow five years. Why, he could probably document being with them around the time of every major even in the young boy's life. And beyond the faults of being a council member for the Alliance, Vellutini wasn't a bad man... when he wasn't disrespecting you for being a woman. "It is about my husband that I request to speak with you in private, Vellutini."

His face immediately went into a mixture of confusion, anger, and shock. "My lady, what are you talking about?"

This was the part she dreaded the entire voyage. "I'm afraid the King has passed away." The servants immediately began whispering amongst themselves, and Bulma had no doubt that the news would be all over the entire palace within the hour. Vellutini urged her to explain. The King couldn't possibly be dead, could he? "I'm afraid it is true, Councilman. I have his body with me on the ship." She turned and nodded to the passengers.

Lynna and Marco rolled out the carrier with the dead King in it, barely making it down before she tripped herself and Marco did his best to catch her. They offered a smile to each other despite the mood in the air before returning to their seemingly depressed state.

They're solemn looks and the casket told Vellutini everything he needed to know... it was true. "We need to speak in more private surroundings, sir." She looked at the servants who were escorting the body into the palace; it was enough that they knew he was dead, but to have them know about the "circumstances" at the moment wouldn't be wise.

"Yes, um... you're right. And who is 'we?', my lady?"

"I am recently returned from Vegeta-sei, Vellutini. King Vegeta or Vegeta-sei has left his kingdom to accompany me and vouch as to the details of his passing." She could feel Vegeta come into view of Vellutini, and the man automatically bowed fully and respectfully toward him. Bulma's eye twitched unconsciously.

–

"A rogue agent did this to our King?" He slammed his hand on the nearby desk. "Why wasn't he properly protected; where were his guards?!"

"Do not address me with such a tone, Vellutini. You know as well as I do that Atrono never wanted the hassle of having guards and protection. He was all about his power and very arrogant about being able to take care of himself." The man seemed to calm down after her statement, which was probably a good thing. Vegeta had been on edge to beat that councilman into submission for how he acted toward Bulma. Notably, any King's death would draw such a reaction on the Alliance and his kingdom, but that gave him no right to be so threatening toward his mate. Vegeta kept himself in check on the sole fact that Bulma could handle herself until it actually got physical. He was impressed, though he'd never admit it, that she wasn't intimidated by the men and their politics, rather she had a good hold at commanding attention from them.

Vegeta could pride himself in that fact.

"After his attack, Vegeta took care of the attacker, disintegrating him completely. But it was too late to save my husband." She didn't see the twinge of hurt on Vegeta's face at her reference to "her husband", but he would never let her see such weakness.

"And how are we going to explain this to the public?! They expect a King, and what do they get? Nothing. Dead King, even worse!" Vellutini was starting to panic. "What are we going to do?"

Bulma sighed, resisting the urge to rub her temples once more. She was going on little to no sleep in how many hours, and this was certainly not helping her energy drain. "This is what we're going to do, Vellutini. We're going to announce it to the public and have the traditional ceremony that's due to a King. Then I will take over all the responsibilities until any further arrangements can be made."

"Arrangements? Yes, getting someone else on the throne will be difficult. No one can replace dear Atrono, but we must go on." He motioned toward the door as he exited. "And of course there's always the case of what new leader are we going to have. If there is an eligible heir to the throne, it is pertinent that you be wed and we have a new King as soon as possible." He left the room, leaving Bulma and Vegeta to contemplate what the councilman had just said.

"Vegeta, this is the part where I'm going to need some help. What should I do?"

–

Tsuyoku: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed it! I busted by behind trying to get this written and up for you. It's a little late and I've been typing away making sure that everything is in order, but if there are any minor mistakes, please disregard them. However, if you do notice anything out of order or whatever, let me know. Otherwise, I really hope you like it. Please R&R!!!


	11. Selfishness

Tyk: Damn, how long has it been…? I can't remember how long I've had this chapter in the works in my mind, but I tell you—it is way overdue. I bet you'd agree, right? I wrote the entire chapter—kid you not—on a little writing pad before typing it (and putting off typing it) and then revising the hell out of it. I really tried to make this a long one to compensate for my taking so long. So, please please please, review after you read! I really want to know how you like it and what you guys think about where things are going concerning plot. Thanks!

Tempt of Fate: Chapter Eleven

Two weeks later, the burning ceremony was held in the imperial plaza, and it was such an understatement to say that every man, woman, and child had stuffed themselves in the area, close enough to each other to dry their eyes on the backs of the person in front of them. Bulma had been pleasantly surprised and relieved that Vegeta's presence in her entourage—if one could call it that—had not been a subject of negative speculation. Quite the opposite, in fact, as if having one king on their planet was enough to partially fill the sudden void even if he was not their own.

Bulma cursed herself for feeling sorry for Atrono. She could not help the tears that had escaped during the funeral, however, and the Queen assumed that it was merely for the life that he gave her and "his" son. She had periodically glanced at Trunks during the ceremony to see his reaction to their peoples' grief, but her only son seemed as stoic as his real father who stood with not ten feet between them. Briefly, Bulma worried that someone in the crowd would see the resemblance between the two—in the face it was uncanny when they were next to each other—but she finally decided that within the grasps of sorrow from the loss of the King no one was going to realize that their Queen was a whore who had no right to be there wearing black and acting the easy part of the widowed lover.

Now, two days later, Bulma sat in the deep, rough arms of a large chair that resided in (formerly) Atrono's study, and at that moment she just wished to blend into the chair, wished for it to swallow her whole, and then she would become part of the fabric: rough and durable against the powerful man that wouldn't have tried to intimidate her husband but she was fair game. To have to even look at Vellutini again and try to pass off that she had nothing to do with Atrono's death was enough to make her gag. For the most part, Vellutini had automatically assumed Atrono's duties just as he had been doing since the king had jumped onto a ship to confront her on the foreign planet. The Queen, still retaining her status, slightly resented his boss-like attitude, even if he was part of the council, but she let the thought lie. There was no point in arguing because he would never admit her right to the throne.

"We must, as I have said, find a suitable heir to the throne as quickly as possible. You must be married immediately."

Vegeta hadn't been very keen on the idea when Vellutini had mentioned it the day they returned, and Bulma could imagine his stern reaction—and possibly a growl or two—should he have been with her right then and there sitting across from the councilman and wanting to leave the room and get on with her controlled life as much as she did. The thought almost made her laugh.

Almost.

After Vellutini had left Vegeta and her alone that first day, her mate used his expertise in non-verbal communication to let her know just how he felt about the whole re-marriage deal to anyone but him. An arm had snaked around her waist as he meant to pull her possessively toward him. Any other time and the foreign king would never have shown so much emotion, but Bulma was quick to let him know that the royalty on her planet were seldom left alone and his actions—however comforting to her they may be—were probably best left on his planet. Therefore, Vegeta and she had not slept near each other since a short nap on the way from Vegeta-sei and the lack of physical and mental connection was starting to have an effect on her sanity and nerves.

She half-way listened to Vellutini drawl on like a young child would listen to their parent's list of chores. Out the window Bulma could observe her people manning the country like its backbone, a strong spine with a stability that Bulma could mimic but had never really possessed. She deeply admired them. Atrono may not have been the best husband, but that man had been born into the right position. Obligations of state and ruling a country were what Atrono did best, and he took the role first and foremost over friends, family, and all other pleasures. And even though Bulma could see that the people were suffering from their kingdom's loss, she was positively amazed and proud to say that the people kept working as if nothing of their lives was out of place. And that thought made her feel the worse, especially considering that she could have saved Atrono's life even though he hadn't spared hers.

She wasn't going to condone either her or Atrono's behavior, especially when the king's death led to Vellutini maintaining a position of power—not the best move from the looks of it.

"Excuse me, but you still haven't explained to me what kind of law sets down that I cannot assume power in the absence of my husband, especially while a new king is found. It doesn't fit with tradition that someone not of the royal court rule instead of a perfectly good queen."

Vellutini looked absolutely appalled, from her comment or the fact that she had interrupted his thought process. Probably both.

He stared her down, but Bulma sat still and returned the stare, stroking the chair's arm as if to remind her not to back down or show any kind of mercy to the man who had treated her as nothing more than an extra in a movie for the past eight years,

"Well, I have been overseeing things here since my Lord left for Vegeta-sei to go after you." There was something about his tone that Bulma knew she wasn't going to like. "Naturally," he continued. "I would carry on the duties now that he has passed."

"You mean to say that the filling of the shoes cannot be done by the Queen, the second in command, should anything happen to the King? Or am I remembering it all wrong?"

"I think you are remembering some thing wrong, my lady." Bulma noted the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "You never actually said why you went to Vegeta-sei in the first place. Atrono was attacked and immediately when to the warrior planet after you. Yet, you still haven't gone into full detail about his murder."

Bulma had known that it might come to this, but she was unsuspecting nonetheless. Vellutini was not by any means a smart man, but having been immersed in the world of politics, the aging man had grown proficient in the oily, slick attitude of getting just was he wanted without much fight.

"Not that it's any of your business, but the matter concerned my son and me—and no one else. It was unfortunate that Atrono followed me. I understand that he was still injured from the attack on him previously."

"You mean when Lord Trunks was taken."

"Yes." Bulma narrowed her eyes a fraction.

"Atrono told me a number of things right before he left—I am one of his trusted advisors, of course—including the fact that you left the safety of the Kingdom without consent, and this was some time before the attack on my Lord occurred."

There was a moment's pause where Bulma faintly wondered just what this man was planning on doing—what mental corner he had been backing her slowly into during the past few minutes of the conversation.

"My Queen, what really happened on Vegeta-sei that you're conveniently forgetting to mention? I intend to get to the bottom of this so-called "assassination" until I am satisfied that the entire truth has been revealed."

"You dare accuse me of lying?"

"Oh," he said, "I merely understand that Atrono, King of thousands and the man I personally represent of the council, died on a foreign planet to which he gave no one much notice that he was leaving. And supposedly a "rogue agent" attempted an assassination on this other planet in the heavily guarded royal palace. You see a big hole forming here?"

"To speak of such things is unwise. You forget that while you are acting in the King's place, _for the moment_ I might add, I am still the reigning Queen. You will show the respect I am due." Bulma found that in her anger she was barely bubbling beneath the surface, contained by the sheer fact that should she stand up and throw a temper tantrum or suddenly burst into the tears currently coating the backs of her eyeballs in frustration. Vellutini might realize her naivety about the situation and how to regain the control that was slipping smoothly through her fingers like the blood that stained her hands. "Besides," she continued, "you seem worried that the new King will appoint someone else as his representative."

Vellutini raised his chain slowly, trying to intimidate her from behind her late husband's desk.

"I have no reason to be. I am a perfectly amiable councilman who anyone would be lucky to appoint. There is no doubt in my mind that I shall continue on my career." And that brings me to my main point: to find you a new King."

"And that takes me back to my first question, which you never answered. There is no law that I am aware of that states I cannot stand alone in the King's absence or death." Bulma paused and shot Vellutini a hard stare before making a final decision. "You have done well in this position, and I thank you. I believe you have earned a vacation from your duties, some time off for a job well done."

"I don't require time off. The truth of the matter is, you're going to allow me to search for Atono's closest male relative, and you will be wed immediately."

"And why, exactly, would I let you do something like that."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Trunks had never before felt such stinging underneath his skin. Thousands of small knives prickled the still soft skin of his face, but the prince knew that his real father, the Saiyan King in front of him, would reconsider his decision that Trunks was ready for proper Saiyan training should the pain be apparent on his face.

For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Trunks rolled back onto his back and pushed small but strong hands flat against the ground and flipped onto his feet. He rubbed his hands abrasively in his bare chest and pants, letting the dirt mingle with the grass stains and blood. There was more debris caked on than usual the young boy noted before turning back to his father.

"Hn," Vegeta said gaining Trunks' full attention immediately. "You have training, but nothing compared to what you should have had."

_You're a Saiyan_. His father was saying. He did not speak the words aloud—Bulma's voice resounded in his head that it would not be wise to share that information with any peeping ears that might be in range.

"You can do better than that." And somehow Trunks knew that he was right. Nothing up until now could compare to this training. It had never been enough of a challenge until now—and he was pleased to know what. The prince had never believed the story that Atrono had sired him, and apparently neither had his mother. Not once in his life did she say anything but, _You are the son of a King_. Never "Atrono," never _her_ King. The pieces of his life puzzle had finally come together, the mystery of his birth had been solved with much pleasure once he'd been taken to Vegeta-sei. He knew he was young—possibly too young to fully understand what the secret of his birth actually represented. And because he didn't understand, Trunks knew that he couldn't be angry at his mother for keeping it from him.

"Again." Vegeta called, and Trunks began to take position once more. The foreign King had eventually been forced to remove his own shirt—like his son had before—and the fact that he was breaking a sweat with this spoke well for his son's abilities.

_My son_. The idea was so foreign, but the past few weeks had allowed for it to finally sink in—and he was starting to enjoy the idea of having a family. Especially with his mate. She was his equal—if not in strength, then in wit and social status and sometimes, although rarely, countenance as well. And she had given him a son that was most worthy. Vegeta, even though the idea might have bothered him in the past, didn't find anything wrong with a half-Saiyan son because he could already see that the boy had the best of both his parents inside him. He was quick and strong for his age, though he'd have to get even more so to be a truly worthy Saiyan when he reached age. Yes, this boy would make a perfect heir for Vegeta-sei when the time came. He could feel the anger pulsing within his ki at the mental image of Atrono raising a son that wasn't his own, calling Trunks his successor even after the weakling found out about Vegeta's true role in the boy's life.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"_And why would I do something like that?_"

Bulma's question hung in the air for a moment before Vellutini approached it carefully.

"Because, Lady Bulma, I have my sneaking suspicion about you. Taking off to another planet, returning with the King Vegeta of all people in tow. You have a secret. And until you feel the need to let me in on the true, unaltered facts about my Lord's death, you're going to sit by and let me work my agenda."

"You really think you can intimidate me into letting you play the patriarch for a while? And what do you intend on doing for me? Get rid of me?" Bulma tried not to let her anger shake her voice. She thought she knew madness, especially when Atrono killed her for her son. This attitude of Vellutini's was taking her to an entirely new level. Bulma had always known that the councilman was loyal to Atrono and criticizing of her, and she mentally kicked herself for not seeing all this coming upon Atrono's death.

But then again, Bulma had never thought as far as her own death, let alone her husband's, and of course the thought that she'd bury him this soon had never occurred to her.

"I would never dream of such a thing." How Vellutini had the gall to look surprised and offended was beyond the Queen just as much as she was beyond regular anger anymore. "You must remain here in the palace, and once we find the next in line, the two of you will be married. Our kingdom will then be whole again."

Bulma's feet were itching, burning to move forward or backward—toward Vellutini to strangle the man (she had diplomatic immunity, right?) or back toward the door and make an escape while it would still be considered elegant—but her mind wanted to stay. _I have to show this guy who is boss around here right now, but_…

In the end, her feet chose the latter and moved closer toward the exit.

"You'll have to excuse me, Vellutini. Suddenly I have a very bad taste in my mouth."

She finally turned completely toward the hallway, never happier to see the rich wood grain of the door. Once outside in the hall, Bulma may or may not have slammed the door a little rough; it all depended on whose side you were on. But seriously, it was as if she'd become a stepping stone for royalty and their wannabes in the last couple of days.

The thought of being legally single, however, was now forefront in her mind. It was… enlightening for however long she could have enjoyed it—if she was enjoying it at all. Atrono was dead, but she still felt his hands shackled around her, keeping her in line and from all the things and people she valued. While he wasn't the only problem standing between her and a life with Vegeta, it was a good step in the right direction. Until Vellutini had to go and ruin it by telling her that she must remain in the palace and remarry to elect a new King.

And he'd announced that fact right in front of Vegeta as well. Though she hadn't had time (nor the privacy) to talk to him, her mate seemed slightly more stoic to her (even though this was his normal persona to everyone else) than usual. It hurt. It hurt so much to have her life manipulated and controlled, her destiny completely determined as soon as she was given to Atrono oh so many years ago, and yet _You should be used to it_, she filled in for herself. _Used to being "Atrono's wife" and "the prince's mother" rather than Queen Bulma who cares about her people and their well being_.

The tap of her shoes had resounded through the halls signifying that she was all alone in her thoughtful stride. Her mind was moving as fast as her feet in hopes to reach a conclusion to this political and emotional turmoil as quick as she reached… wherever she was going. Trunks and Vegeta were most likely training at the usual place—they had been spending their days at the open grounds outside of her son's room where the boy had spent countless hours fighting anyone and everyone that he deemed at least fit enough to challenge him. Bulma had spent many nights tending to various scrapes and bruises that he'd accumulated throughout his sessions. But Trunks had always felt as if the guards and palace employees and everyone that he fought (save for his instructor) went easy on him because of his age and status even thought they were strong enough to beat him. And her son, till he was red in the face, would scream at every one of them that he wasn't weak, he could hold his own. If he got hurt in the process then so be it. Bulma would just smile and ruffle his head all the while knowing that he was his father's son in every way but his hair, but then her heart hurt, a pain in her chest from the fact that she couldn't completely share the secret with Trunks as freely as she did with Lynna.

As Bulma approached the training area, she contemplated the idea of marrying another man when Vegeta was just within he reach. He could be furious, of course, and Bulma couldn't say that she'd blame him at all. Saiyans, as much as they looked like everyone else, were part animal—they were possessive, territorial, and perhaps most importantly, they were easily angered when one of the aforementioned was breeched or threatened. The powerful woman within her wanted to add that even as his mate, she would not be considered either a possession or a territory, but in the area of marrying off his mate to some other male, she knew Vegeta saw her that way.

_If only there was someone to take over the throne without me having to be in the picture… But the only one who could do that would be Trunks_. She stopped that thought as soon as she could, almost physically slapping herself for considering it. He son was way too young and completely untrained to take over. Besides, if Bulma found a way out of this mess, she was going to Vegeta-sei and remaining there. There was no question about that. And she was going to take Trunks with her as a part of her knew that Vegeta would train his only son to succeed him.

_Speak of the devil_, Bulma finally approached the training area but didn't enter it. She knew that her boys were aware of her presence, but Bulma didn't want to interrupt them. _Who knows how long they will be out there. I'm going to give them a reason to stop this bonding they have going on_.

The Queen had always read in her romance novels (as much as she didn't always like to admit) that the skin of a strong man always had visible muscles creating the landscape of his chest and abs. She would be the first to admit that before Vegeta, she always found the description to be trite and unrealistic. But at the risk of becoming one of the women those particular novels centered around, Bulma would be the first to admit that her… mate had muscles that rippled under his taught skin, which was mostly unblemished except for some wicked looking scars over his side—she wasn't sure that he'd tell her about them even if she asked. _Damn_, Bulma thought, _it's hard to believe that two weeks have passed without his touch_… she could feel a familiar pull from her stomach that seemed to be directed toward the King of Saiyans, but that wasn't happening on her planet. As she'd told him, there was too high a risk of getting caught. _But as soon as we get on that planet of his—hell as soon as we get on that damn ship, I'm pouncing him_.

And there stood the Queen, blushing at a shirtless King in only a pair of black pants from her position in a doorway on a weekday afternoon. Normally, she might have been a little appalled at her very… Saiyan-like thoughts (though Vegeta might be proud over all) yet she felt just a little indulgent. There usually weren't many people around this area at any time of the day. No one was going to see her gawk a bit.

Vegeta could feel his woman's stares—he could have felt them where she had been across the grounds for the heat that rolled off her looks. _I know, Woman_, he thought while throwing a quick succession of punches to the boy. _I miss you too_. He wished to finish things up with the boy and go seek her out, show her exactly what her looks were doing to him at the moment, but who knew when that would be. Saiyans were known for keeping emotions built up inside them, and eventually they required an outlet. And that was where sparring (even in times of peace) came into the picture. This boy had a lot of pent up rage to let out against an opponent that wasn't going to go easy on him. And his father certainly wasn't going to be. When the boy was sufficiently tired out, as the King assumed he was getting to be, he would attend to the personal depravities between his mate and him.

She stood there and watched their movements for what seemed like forever before sighing into the fading light and turning from the two who had yet to take a break from their past time. She took gentle strides toward her bedroom and once again left Trunks under the knowing eye of his father. Vegeta had been trained the same way, she had assumed, so she could expect Trunks to be in one piece when the night was over, even if he had scrapes and bruises.

Meanwhile, Lynna, the amazing woman that she was, had a warm bath with just the amount of bubbles added to it waiting for Bulma when she finally returned to her suite. The blue-haired woman wasted no time in ripping off the suddenly constricting dress and sinking a toe into the water, hissing at how satisfying the heat was as it tingled the nerves of each individual toe.

"Lynna, I don't know what I'd do without you. You are amazing, and I…" Bulma just felt so touched at the woman's caring actions and knowing smile. This was a person that had served at the palace as not only her lady in waiting but (because she was only a year younger than Bulma) her best friend as well. Bulma had been feeling rather emotional lately—between the politics and being so close but just far enough from Vegeta not to mention her inner turmoil of contemplating her life, future, and all things in between—and suddenly tears stung behind her nose while she sunk into the warm liquid that was so calming it might as well have been witches' brew. And she couldn't help but cry grateful tears at the fact that Lynna knew her so well that words wouldn't do justice to their unspoken communication.

"So what are they going to do about it?" Lynna sat on the edge of the tub as Bulma soaked out the day's frustrations. She'd surprised her queen with the question, but it wasn't hard enough to figure out what she was talking about. However, the blue-haired woman didn't know exactly how to answer that question. After Vellutini had left Vegeta and her alone, they hadn't really come up with anything, and even in the time between then and now, Bulma was still drawing a blank as to how she could maneuver her way out of this tight situation.

Vegeta had barely been able to contain his anger at Vellutini's demand that they find a suitable heir to the throne and wed him immediately to Bulma. She'd had a hard time explaining that while she had a mass amount of power and status in the palace, Vellutini and the other councilmen would only accept a male ruler rather than a female. Since she was in the King's standing at the moment, that another man be put on the throne by simply wedding the current Queen, it was tradition, law.

"It's so messed up. Atrono can no longer stake claim or control me—I am no longer his. Yet even with this I still can't be with the man I want. It would seem that we are forever doomed to avoid the eye of the public, dance around the edge of the spotlight and remain lovers in the shadows."

She lifted her hand from the water watching as the bubbles slowly slid down her skin and back into the white abyss.

"Well… what if—"

Bulma knew what was coming even before Lynna said it.

"No, I can't marry Vegeta because he's the succession to his own throne. He can't rule two planets at once. And he's not an eligible heir, either, though I don't really know who would be. I've never met any of the extended royal family before. I swear they keep them locked up for occasions like this because any time I've ever heard of a relative taking over a throne, no one has ever heard of them."

"I know how you feel, Bulma. I really do." _I know the ache of having the man of your dreams so accessible, so available, but not allowed_. _To have to keep this to myself, say nothing to the people who are closest to me_... It was hard enough on the young woman, who didn't feel so young anymore, who could sympathize with her lady. "But things are going to work out eventually. I have faith that these problems will right themselves, and I don't see fate keeping two people like Vegeta and you apart, especially when it worked so hard to keep you together."

"I really do hope you're right. It just seems like too much for us to have been through just to be cut off at the pass by some stupid law." Looking at her friend, Bulma felt an ashamed look creep slowly into her features. "I just hate that I keep wishing Trunks were old enough to take the reigns. It's just so selfish of me to want that. What kind of mother am I, wanting to leave her son to deal with the problems while I run away to live the life I've wished for since I was sixteen?"

"Well, Master Trunks is the King's only son. He's expected to take things over sooner or later. Maybe if it does come to that, it will just be a good excuse for him to learn everything and follow Vellutini around."

Bulma grimaced. "He is the last person Trunks need to be learning from. That man just infuriates me. The plan was for Trunks to follow Atrono, to learn from the King. No one else knew this country better than him."

"Well, Marco followed King Atrono around all the time! He was with the King as much as I am with you. If anyone is more qualified to teach Trunks, no one will know Atrono's ways better than Marco." Lynna chimed in with a proud, high-pitched voice that only increased in power as it bounced off the stone-tiled walls.

Bulma hadn't thought about that. Marco had been about Bulma's age when he'd started working as Atrono's personal assistant. Even more surprising was that her husband had hand picked Marco to work there. "Well, he must have been a good pick because Atrono always seemed to trust him with everything. I swear that man knew my husband better that I ever did. I guess he would be quite the perfect choice."

"So, if things come to that, then you'll just have to intimidate Marco into showing Trunks the ropes for a bit. You won't have any trouble doing that from what I witnessed on Vegeta-sei. He should take some more responsibility these days anyway. He is a year older than you are, Bulma. I know that he has it in him to control this country like Atrono would, and he will be a wonderful teacher."

"Yes. I remember that we both came to the palace around the same time. He should know everything." Bulma sunk lower into the tub until the tops of her breasts floated barely above the placid, swirling surface of the water now littered with struggling, pop corned groups of bubbles. "So many things have changed completely, but Marco has been able to handle it. Atrono saw to it that he would."

She didn't elaborate for a moment, but Lynna knew that Bulma was talking of Vegeta, Trunks, and the little, seemingly innocuous events that filled the barely recognized spaces between them.

"He was so angry," Bulma said. It seemed that she was talking more to the tiled walls rather than Lynna, but they had been the recipient of many one sided conversations in the past eight years as she stared at them like she would an old friend. "Vegeta was so livid with Vellutini when he just ruthlessly announced plans for marriage right after our arrival. So uncaring. And once the councilman left, Vegeta didn't say much of anything."

Bulma sighed and sunk completely into the water, holding her breath as if the answer to life, the universe, and everything might miraculously come to her. She stayed down there as long as she could while slowly letting out the air in her lungs to prolong the feeling of weightlessness. But her chest began to ache, and a familiar feeling of hurt crept into her lungs and heart.

It hurt to think about her current situation. Bulma had never felt so much dread at a political encounter as she did at the moment. It made her sick to her stomach to have to think about what she was going to have to do, how she was going to have to keep lying all because she wanted to be with her lover.

_How much more selfish can I get?_

_And in the end, how is this all going to work_?

She finally reached the surface and took a much needed breath, circulating the air in and out of her lungs until the pain was subsiding. She kept her eyes closed, protected from the soapy water around them and asked, "Lynna, what do I think is going to happen? Do I think this is all a fairy tale where I'm going to end up with Vegeta and absolutely nothing to worry about? Because I don't see that happening…"

For a moment there was silence, and Bulma assumed that Lynna was just as puzzled about it as anyone was. Before opening her eyes, the queen splashed them to remove the suds, quickly looking up to pressure her maid for help. Either Lynna had—in the minute or so Bulma had been submerged—grown deep, black eyes; wild, gravity defying hair; and a particular appendage that she liked to interact with or… oh hell, it was Vegeta, there was no mistaking that. The sudden change had startled her, and she swung sideways in the tub a little, splashing water in three different directions.

"I'm not some prince that's going to sweep in wearing shining armor, but I will definitely fight the fight to keep you with me no matter what, Woman." His deep voice reverberated against the tiled walls as he leaned one shoulder against the door frame, and Bulma reveled in how it vibrated through her chest and calmed her down just as Lynna had always been able to do.

He must have ended the training session not long after she left from the looks of him—completely clean, washed of the sweat that coated those muscles… Bulma had to stop herself before she went down _that_ particular road. But he had dressed nonetheless and no longer wore his tight training clothes, instead dark men's pants and a shirt that was more akin to the fashions of her planet rather then the battle-ready attire that everyone on Vegeta-sei usually wore.

"Relax," Vegeta said, brushing off the droplets of water she'd splashed on him. "I came looking for you, and your maid gave us some privacy."

She finally settled down against the back of the tub once more and contented herself to soak in the warm water while trying to still her heart from that scare. She'd never really been in a situation where she was naked and Vegeta was not. It was an odd feeling to realize that they were being intimate without actually having sex. And the thought of her being completely unclothed in front of him, even underneath the cover of the bubbles, made her blush self-consciously.

"What are you doing here?" Even through tears and the scented water still smudging her sight and her thoughts, Bulma knew the reality. "Someone could have seen King Vegeta just walk right into the Queen's suite, and then where would we be?"

"You refuse to see me in private, but I finally got fed up with waiting. You're my mate, I must be near you."

Bulma tried to ignore his last line, knowing most of the circumstances of their ever growing bond, knowing that with every second it strengthened into something that would kill them should they try to deny it.

"I thought we agreed that this was the time to lay low." Bulma had tried to explain to Vegeta on multiple occasions that he should just go back to Vegeta-sei and wait for word from her, but the man had refused.

"_Things are fine on my planet. Kakkarot is attending to the affairs, nothing of importance is going on. This is where I need to be." Bulma smiled at the sweet thought until he added that while his mate was being threatened with another arranged marriage, he was going to defend what was his_.

He spoke once more. "I told you before, and I won't keep repeating myself, Woman." And he didn't need to elaborate any more on the matter. His shoulder pushed off the door frame and he walked that slow, perfect stride over to the tub and sat on the floor with his legs crossed.

Bulma wanted to laugh. The position—back propped against the stone bath, feet crossed out in front of him—would have looked ridiculous had any other man been doing it. But she caught the sound before it could bubble out of her throat as he looked at her with a strange expression, something she hadn't seen on his face since the darkness of his bedroom after he killed Atrono. It was something of an appraising look, making sure that she was alright, she assumed. Bulma resisted the urge to cover the parts of herself that were above water—not much, thank goodness—but she resisted in telling herself that he had seen her naked so many times already.

"Your… wounds." Vegeta mumbled, almost so low that she didn't catch his implied query, but she eventually caught on and without thinking she rose to her knees so her stomach was out of the water.

Bulma didn't miss the look that he sent her way as her breasts cleared the surface of the water and bounced with her movement. She was propped up on the bone of her knees, which were getting slightly hard to move because his stare had pinned her in place. Bulma felt that same sensations in her lower belly that she had earlier upon finding a shirtless Vegeta.

Vegeta's hand unfolded itself from its position across his chest to find the area on the left side of her stomach where he knew she'd been shot; the skin was completely smooth and unmarred. The King could have pointed the exact location where the cluster of bullets penetrated her skin and so much blood had spilled onto the floor and his hands. There was no telling how long he'd sat with the lifeless shell of his mate on the cold metal table—as cold as her body would become eventually—but he found her bloodied face to be a level of calm that he never wanted to see on her face again.

Bulma recalled the many times she had felt those same calloused hands rub over her with an erotic fever behind them. Not once, however, had they slowly tickled the nerve endings like they were doing now, while she was naked in a tub.

Vegeta's eyes winced very slightly, and if Bulma hadn't already been staring at them she would have missed it completely. But she was sure that not even Vegeta realized it as his eyes were focused solely on her stomach, but it was easy to read from her vantage point. He was reliving the brief time she had been dead, killed by her husband. And he was wondering what kind of pain the action shot through her even though it was probably nothing compared to what he'd experienced on multiple occasions in his life thus far,

"It doesn't hurt, Vegeta." Finally, his chin rose to acknowledge her, but those black eyes maintained a steady stare on her middle. "In fact," Bulma continued, trying to lighten the depressing situation a little, "I remember very little about the entire ordeal. Atrono said something about taking Trunks back with him, that as long as he had his son, he wouldn't need me. Then… oh, you should have seen the look on his face when I told him Trunks was not his son. You would have loved it." She grasped his hand with her fingers and studied the size difference between them. "And after that I remember standing up to Atrono, telling him that if he wanted to get to Trunks, he would have to go through me first."

Vegeta's eyes finally drew a path up to her face where he set an enemy-worthy glare on her. Bulma back-tracked through everything she said searching for the source of his sudden annoyance but coming up mentally empty handed on the matter.

"What-"

"Stupid woman!" The rough hand that had before been so gentle grabbed one shoulder and his other hand grasped the side of her neck, holding on as if her slippery skin would slide away from him in her surprise. "Why the hell you continue to put yourself in danger by opening that big mouth of yours is beyond me. It's like you don't stop to think about how your actions are going to effect the people who care about you." The scorn, Bulma could see, quickly fell from its place and she could see the emotionless façade effortlessly taking the same place.

_Don't do that_, Bulma thought. _You aren't supposed to close me out, remember_?

"You're going to have to start thinking before you act so rashly. If I am not mistaken, the Dragonballs do not automatically manifest after someone makes their wish on them."

"And how do you know that?"

"You forget, Woman, that before you stole them from the safe in my bedroom, I had quite the collection. You're not so naïve as to think I would not investigate their power once Launch began scouting them for me." He set another glare on her momentarily before it slipped from his face.

Bulma easily read that one. "But think, if I hadn't stolen them, you wouldn't have been able to bring me back to life."

"If you hadn't come to Vegeta-sei to steal them, we wouldn't have been put in the position to have to resurrect you."

"I supposed that you're right…" Bulma paused as Vegeta slid his hands smoothly to grasp the peaks of her breasts, completely different from the innocent, worried motions they performed earlier. After so long of fighting her urges to give into him, resisting the pull to walk to halls and crawl into his bed every night since they'd arrived at her home, the young woman was so close to giving in and letting him take her right there in the bathtub, but on the subject of Dragonballs, a question long unanswered came to mind. "Vegeta?" The King answered with a grunt, his rational side having succumbed to the animal inside him that wanted his mate and would no longer be denied. "What were you planning to do with the Dragonballs?"

The Saiyan's movements paused and he sighed, unsatisfied. There would be no moving forward with his plans for her young, delectable body if he didn't respond. "You mean, what I was planning to wish for." Bulma nodded at his non-question, unable to trust her voice as her nipples hardened from the saliva that dried under the air's draft. "That is a question I cannot answer right now."

Bulma pulled back from him and sunk back into the water. "Why not, Vegeta?"

"I am still unsure."

He wouldn't meet her eyes, instead staring distantly at her lower belly, not in lust but almost a longing. Hesitantly, because she had not been subjected to such a gaze on her nude body, Bulma raised her hand from the water and tried unsuccessfully to cover herself.

The only thing between them was the sound of the water droplets on her arms falling to the surface like many of her tears that already joined the liquid pool. _Vegeta_…

"You know exactly what you were going to wish for, don't you? And you're not able to tell me? Is it so terrible that you think I'm going to look at you different for it?"

Vegeta still said nothing to her, just stared blankly. Nothing on his person betrayed his expression. _It's unnerving. I thought he would trust me more than this since we are stuck together_. And then Bulma had a thought that make her heart cringe. _Sure, we're mated, but we lived away from each other for about six years, and we were fine. Maybe we aren't as stuck to the hip as I thought_.

And for the first time since she'd begun sleeping with the Saiyan King all those years ago, Bulma just wanted Vegeta to leave her alone.

"Vegeta, I think it's best if you were to leave. The Kingdom, I mean."

Bulma realized that she'd managed to successfully surprise her lover (and herself in the process.) His face betrayed the uncaring expression that was there previously, but even after a few seconds, it didn't return. Consternation knitted his brow together and confusion set in. "I'm being selfish to keep you away from your people for so long. I know that you already explained this to be, but I'm fine. I can handle this. And when my fate is decided once the search for the next King comes to an end, you will be the first to know."

_Stupid woman_. His words rang through her head, making her realize just how stupid she really was to believe that she wasn't upsetting his life for this simple drama.

Vegeta remained still for a few more moments until he shifted and finally stood up. She thought that he might actually take her order (however unlikely that was), and the thought scared her a little until he finally motioned for her to stand as well.

Timidly, she stood from the tub and the teardrops of water became a fall: sporadic, frantic, jumbled like her emotions.

Vegeta grabbed the towel from the edge of the tub where Lynna had sat, unfolded it carefully and meticulously as if he enjoyed her standing at attention with all bared to him. To her everlasting surprise, his rough hands held a corner of the towel in each, the white fluff contrasting with his dark, calloused skin.

She stepped gingerly onto the rug at the base of the bath, each foot gingerly finding its footing slowly and completely before resting her full weight on the mat that hungrily lapped up the water rolling over her curves and down her legs. The Saiyan wasted no time in wrapping her in the crook of the towel, drying her off and feeling every hard and soft spot on her body in the process. _Damn_, Bulma felt her resolve—the one and same that had the courage to ask him to leave—disappearing like the water to the towel. Once dried off to Vegeta's satisfaction, he threw the towel off to the side and lifted his mate in his arms. One arm under her shoulders and another resting on the in the warm crook of her knees , the mixtures of their body heat almost burning his skin to a point of desire he wasn't sure he'd ever been. But that was beside the point at the moment. He wasn't going to take anything from her, _especially when she's obviously doing her best to push me away_.

Vegeta stared at her though the dim light when he'd reached the bedroom. The last time he'd carried her like this had been her dead body, bloodied and broken with holes in her stomach like the holes in his heart. _Heh, even to me that sounded cheesy_, Vegeta added. He smirked and hoped that his woman couldn't make it out in the dark as he dropped low and deposited her on the large bed that she and Atrono had once shared.

The trip from the bathroom across the suite to her bed took no time at all to Bulma, who felt the soft covers beneath the skin of her back almost immediately after crossing the threshold of the bathroom. At first she struggled as soon as he released her—even more so when she heard the sound of his clothing start to slide and hit the floor. He couldn't do this to her. Not right now. If he managed to seduce her, she would give in, and then Vegeta would be forced to stay with her because she fell in love with the touch of his skin all over again.

"Woman, calm yourself. I am not going to fuck you."

_Well, that was quite blunt_, Bulma thought, fighting forgotten for the moment. _Then what is all this?_ she asked, mentally gesturing to the bit with the towel and now his careful placement of her on the bed.

Still confused as he slid in next to her, she felt his hands grab a shoulder and a thigh only to turn her facing the opposite direction she thought she would. Instead of staring into a hard, well developed chest, Bulma felt said chest against her back.

"Vegeta?"

"Do not question me, Woman. Not about this and especially not about staying here. The Queen may not answer to many people, but if there is one person that may order her around, it is her King."

"My King?"

"Hn," was all he said in return before sliding his arm around her waist to cup one of her breasts firmly. "Now rest. You are stressing yourself out beyond reasonable level."

"But," she said in protest.

"_Shut up_. That's an order." Strong enough of an answer, even though there was no malice in his voice.

Bulma finally decided it was smart to do what he said, after all, Vegeta had made a very good point—she didn't have to take orders from anyone but the King. She silently wished that she'd shared her dilemma fully with Vegeta to see if the King could shed some light (and possibly more Saiyan wisdom) on the matter. He was always so collected about matters of state that she felt it would be a good idea to glean as much wisdom from him as possible.

_However_, Bulma thought as the brooding began, _considering that this little matter of state includes such personal circumstances—namely his mate and by default his son—I'm not really sure how helpful he is going to be on the matter_.

Though she toggled the idea in her mind, he might—in so many ways—have given her the exact same advice that he already did. _I supposed that if I have enough inner fire to deal with Vegeta (in and out of the bedroom) then I can surely say something to that annoying Vellutini_. And before she could find fault in her new resolution, Bulma joined Vegeta in his steady breathing and waited till the morning came to move from his protective warmth.

When Bulma finally woke, the sound of knocking on the door to her suite didn't register as anything but background noise until it stopped suddenly. Once the door opened unexpectedly Bulma was awake enough to pull the covers up over her exposed chest.

"Bulma! My Lady, you need to wake up!" Lynna, judging by the movement of her voice, had jogged from the door to the bed in two seconds flat—possibly some kind of record considering the size of the room.

"Lynna? What's going on?" The Queen finally lurched forward into a sitting position, afraid to know what ailed the girl on the chance it might ruin her good mood—the result of a great night's sleep. Dully, she noted the absence of a certain stoic man, but she shrugged it off when she remembered he had always been an early riser.

"Vellutini has requested an audience with you." Bulma mentally smirked knowing that Vellutini, with his current authority going to his head, would not "request" anything of her if he thought he could get away with ordering her around.

"What is so urgent about that?"

_Perhaps_, Bulma thought, _he has found the next in line_? But that just made things worse. _So soon_?

"He seems… happy." Silence. "This is the man who has barely been able to smile in the how many years he's been here! Not to mention the fact that he looked anxious to see you of all people, who he's never really liked."

"Hmm, good point. I'm going to wash up first and make him wait a little longer. He probably has something up his sleeve, so I need to make sure I have my wits about me just in case. He's really been punching my buttons lately and tried to undermine my authority, but that's not going to happen anymore.

Lynna could barely move out of the way in time for her queen to jump up and walked assuredly to her bathroom. The young maid strode to the closet and selected an outfit for her before following Bulma's trail into the other room.

Half an hour later, the Queen emerged from her quarters for her meeting with Vellutini. The hallway was long, and there was not a soul about, which was odd because usually her wind of the castle was bustling with servants, especially in the early afternoon like this. Bulma, however, concentrated solely on what she was going to say. She didn't care if it was law that a new patriarch be elected through marriage to the current queen—no way she was going through another arranged marriage! And Vellutini was going to hear her refusal as she was armed with Vegeta's words. _You're right, my lover, I am a queen_. _The only one who orders me around is… well, you, I guess_. But Bulma realized that saying that would almost b like giving him permission, so she quickly added a "sometimes" to that last thought and continued her walk to the study where Vellutini seemed to hole up these days.

"Lady Bulma, I'm glad you made it."

_Okay_, she thought. _That was just weird_.

Never had she seen such an amiable expression on the man's face. Bulma actually felt mortification creep up her spine at the sight.

"Have a seat. I have some important new developments to discuss with you." Once she was seated, Vellutini motioned to the far left corner of the room, and without turning, Bulma heard footsteps approach her side. "I'm sure you know Mina, she's been a servant in this castle for five years now."

"Yes," Bulma began evenly, but even then, her arms and legs felt shaky from the knowledge of where this conversation was going.

"Mina has especially been helpful in the wing of the castle where you live, and she brought to my attention something of… interest that happened just last night."

Bulma slowly turned her head toward the young girl to her side. Her black hair was straight as a stick; dull brown eyes stared straight ahead. She could see the scared look in Mina's eyes, the fear of looking toward her Queen, whom she was betraying. Bulma just wanted to slap the girl right across her dull, little face for this act.

But then again, was she betraying Bulma or protecting the state? That's really who she was loyal to, in fact.

"Mina, how about you share with us what you came across last night on your rounds through the halls?"

The young girl spoke, but Bulma didn't need to listen. She knew what the Mina saw. It was exactly what Bulma had been warning Vegeta about the entire stay: if they were together in private, eventually they'd be caught. "I had just ducked into the linen room when I heard some heavy footsteps coming closer. Knowing that no one with that kind of walk had any business down the hallway, I listened and looked out the cracked door. King Vegeta just walked up to the door to the King's suite and opened it, entering as if he did it all the time. I stayed there for a moment to see what happened, but he didn't come out. The only person who did was Lynna."

"Thank you, Mina. You may go return to your duties now."

The girl bowed to Vellutini and walked toward the door, and Bulma noted how nothing was said nor any kind of respect shown to the Queen. At the click of the door, Vellutini's attention turned toward Bulma. "I have told her to keep this information to herself and not spread it around the castle. But I think you should look at the situation now and ask yourself who is in control, Bulma."

"I am still in control, Vellutini. I'm not going to be ordered around by someone who is not and will never be the King."

"But you don't have much choice anymore. You've backed yourself slowly into a corner ever since you left for Vegeta-sei and then returned with the King only to be concerned more with your own self and personal relationships rather than the people, inside the palace or out. You have begun to lose the trust of the people within the palace, especially the servants and those who know you most, as Mina is an example of that. And now I suddenly know why."

"You have been having a relationship with King Vegeta. I makes sense now that I know you see him privately."

"I can assure you that last night was the first night I have been alone with him on this planet."

"_This_ planet, you say. Was that why you went to Vegeta-sei in the first place? To see your lover? How long has this been going on?"

_Damn_, Bulma thought. _He's not supposed to be in the position of power over this conversation! But it's not like I can tell him about the real reason I went to Vegeta-sei. The last think Vellutini needs to hear about are the Dragonballs_.

"Well, before you get upset over this situation, I have a proposition for you."

Bulma froze for a moment. He wasn't expecting her to agree to marry him in some hoop-jumping move to get himself appointed King or anything, was he? Because that was enough to make bile climb halfway up her esophagus.

"I will announce to the public that we have decided to make a permanent alliance with Vegeta-sei, and this alliance would be sealed with the marriage of King Vegeta and you." Bulma would have risen her eyebrows, leaped from the chair and did a little dance, or just squealed in delight. But she knew that nothing came free, especially not from this man.

"What is the catch to this generous offer, Vellutini?"

"The catch? Simple, really. You will leave and live on Vegeta-sei with your new husband and live happily ever after…

"But Trunks must stay here on this planet and take over under my tutelage. I will act as his guardian until he comes of age to rule on his own. Until then, I will remain by the young King's side as not only his representative but his advisee as well."

x. x. x. x. x. x. x.

Tsuyoku: Was that long enough for you? And how about that ending? I hope to hear what you think, and please be patient for the next one! R&R Please!


	12. The Proof

Tsuyoku: This chapter is seriously long overdue. I hope that everyone who's following will get word that I've updated and R&R for next time. I'm not the greatest fan of how this chapter turned out (as far as wording and flow goes), but I'm pretty glad to have it finished and posted. Unlike all the other times, I won't promise to have another one on the way soon, but it really helps to see where people have added this story to their favorites or alerts. That gets me really motivated to get another chapter written. Because of all the reviews and recent adds for this story, I have moved it up the list above both Naruto stories. So thank you to all! Please R&R guys!

Tempt of Fate: Chapter Twelve

"_I will announce to the public that we have decided to make a permanent alliance with Vegeta-sei, and this alliance will be sealed with the marriage of King Vegeta and you." Bulma would have risen her eyebrows, leaped from the chair and did a little dance, or just squealed in delight. But she knew that nothing came free, especially not from this man._

"_What is the catch to this generous offer, Vellutini?"_

"_The catch? Simple, really. You will leave and live on Vegeta-sei with your new husband and live happily ever after…_

"_But Trunks must stay here on this planet and take over under my tutelage. I will act as his guardian until he comes of age to rule on his own. Until then, I will remain by the young King's side as not only his representative but his advisee as well."_

"Absolutely not," Bulma said. It didn't take her a moment to think about it. She was not leaving her son in that man's hands to become a carbon copy. Bulma would rather Atrono be the one to raise the boy instead of this man.

"You say that now. But when you think about it, it's the only option. The longer you stay in this palace, the more I will make your life hell, _Lady_ Bulma. And eventually the idea of marrying King Vegeta and moving to Vegeta-sei will be tempting; you won't care about leaving Trunks here. Besides, if you take the heir to the throne to another planet," he leaned in as close as he could, "the people will surely revolt."

Bulma's neck stiffened in an attempt to keep her head from backing up. As much as she despised Vellutini, she wasn't going to show him the effect he had on her—one of disgust.

When she didn't respond, Vellutini pulled back and leered at her for a moment before turning for the door. "You can't think on this too long, _your majesty_, but I would advise you to take my offer. Otherwise, I may have to actually lift my fingers and force you out of here." And he was gone.

"Insufferable man," she mumbled. Bulma got up from the chair and crossed to the desk. There had to be something that she could find, something that Atrono left behind. _I have to find out whether there's anyone else in line_.

She sat in the large desk chair. You'd think someone would have a record of who was next in line for something as important as the throne of an entire planet… but then again, weirder things have happened. Atrono probably figured that with Trunks—his son—being the heir to the throne, there wouldn't be any use for other relatives.

Bulma sighed for a moment. She looked at the desk for something, anything. The smaller top drawer was filled with the basic desk necessities, delicately placed in a refined order. She ran her hands over the wood of the drawer before pushing it back in and staring at the desk as a whole. Right after Atrono and she had married, he became King. And when he was going through the little nooks and crannies of the castle that he'd never been able to discover when his father was still alive, he found this desk. It was special to him. The entire desk was made from the wood of their national tree, which was going instinct no matter how hard they tried to keep it alive. Atrono had said it was his history and that made it special. But the desk had been in ill repair when he found it.

And instead of coming to bed some nights, the man would spend his free time fixing up the desk and coating it with new varnish to protect all the work he'd put into it. Bulma could comfortable say that the only times she ever felt attracted to Atrono were the times he was shirtless and fixing up this desk. That feeling passed pretty quickly when he finished it and replaced the existing desk in his father's study with his newly renovated job, and he went back to his old, political routine.

Bulma pulled a few more drawers, but the final drawer she tried wouldn't budge. It didn't have the same handle as the others, and when she tugged on the small notch sticking out of the top, a small number pad came with it.

In all her years of living in this palace and working in this room alongside her husband, she had never seen this. It was obviously a recent addition to the desk that was antique against that technology. It was a generic number pad, and she could see where three of the glowing blue buttons were worn from use. She worked at it for a few minutes, trying to match names or dates that corresponded with the rubbed off letters and numbers; nothing was working.

It had probably been a half hour since Vellutini left, and Bulma was praying that she would figure something out before he came back. When she examined the drawer further, it was obvious that he'd been trying to get into it as well. There were scratch marks left over from where she assumed he had been trying to pry it open. He was no doubt curious what was in there, though Bulma supposed it wasn't because he wanted to find out who was next in line rather than the fact that knowledge is power.

Atrono's son or not, Trunks was not of age to take the thrown. It could easily be assumed by someone else in line. And she was determined to make that happen by finding someone, anyone to take his place. She didn't want to stay on that planet if it meant leaving Vegeta's side, but Bulma knew that she wasn't going to leave Trunks there by himself. She was going to have her cake and eat it too.

She poked in every combination she could think of once more, trying to find the answer. It didn't make sense. Atrono wasn't the type to use passwords, let alone complicated ones. No, something like that would be harder to remember in his busy schedule. Bulma knew it had to be a name or date, as long as it meant something to him. Their anniversary didn't work, nor did Trunks' birthday. And she was running out of names to try. She even went out on a limb and tried her own name, only to have the keys blink red. She was getting tired of the pad's constant reminder that she was wrong, and Bulma was just waiting for some locking mechanism in the desk to enact and completely lock anyone out of the desk for good.

She tried Lynna's name, spelling it out on the pad. Red again. She typed in Marco's name, punctuating each press with a hard stroke of her finger, more out of frustration than anything else. M-A-R-C-O.

The keys blinked green.

Bulma sat there for a moment, hand resting on the edge of the drawer that had popped out in response to the right password.

_Marco_, she thought. _Why would he be the password to Atrono's desk of all people_? Bulma knew Atrono and Marco had been very close, spending most of their waking hours together, but it was nonetheless a surprise. She hadn't thought it would work. Marco was, however, the man Atrono had hand-picked to be his assistant, his right-hand man, the only person now left (and Vellutini didn't count) that knew the workings of the palace, of the kingdom, inside and out.

Bulma could clearly recall the first time she'd met Marco shortly after she arrived in the palace. She'd been sixteen when she was chosen for Atrono. Young and alone, she'd been roaming the palace halls aimlessly until her legs wouldn't take it anymore. Sitting on a small, built-in bench beneath one of the windows in the hall, Bulma had looked up to find a boy about her age leaning against the sharp corner that made the small alcove she was in.

"What?" she asked when all he seemed to be going was observing her.

"This is a restrictive area, Miss. I'm afraid wandering in the King's wing is off-limits to all but a select few."

She tilted her head up until her chin was level with the shining floor. Surely he could recognize her even with the sunlight from the window backlighting her.

And it wasn't until a few long moments later that the look of realization creased his face, and he bowed low at the waist. "M-my lady," he stammered. "Forgive me. I didn't recognize who you were."

Bulma didn't offer much more than a small smile. But even the smile was clouded over with tear-glazed eyes that ruptured over onto her cheeks when he inquired as to how she was feeling.

"What's wrong, my lady? If I offended you at all, I'm terribly sorry. I'm just unused to beautiful women freely walking the hall around here."

"It's—it's not you." Bulma sniffed, pushing her hands onto her face to his the grief she was openly displaying. "I just don't understand! Life was good, perfect even, with my parents, and my dad had to go and ruin it by giving me away."

Bulma had been picked to be a candidate for Atrono's bride against her will. She was a woman by society's standards but still a girl by her own, and she felt furious at her parents for cutting that innocent, teenage life short. She and her father had been close, but he'd accepted all too easily the notion that they would never meet again should she be chosen for this "better life" as he put it.

She didn't even know the man's name, but she patted the remainder of the bench beside her. "C'mon, sit with me. I need some company that's not so high and mighty right now."

"I shouldn't. I need to get back—"

"Don't make me order you," Bulma said with a smile.

Marco couldn't decide if it was genuine or foreboding. Nevertheless, he sat down next to her, awkwardly trying to avoid the folds of her full skirt that spilled around her in all directions.

"I'm not well-acquainted with how things work in the politics of this kingdom, but it doesn't seem right that the King would be able to pick up just any girl he might like for a bride and take her away from her family."

"Well," he replied, "it's not quite that simple. The guardians of those women nominate, for lack of a better word, their daughters. They can relinquish them to the kingdom if so inclined."

"But what about me? What part of that is right, to govern another person's life because they're _too young_?"

He shrugged. "It may not be right, but it is edict."

"But my father is far from poor. It's not like I was elevated much when I was chosen by… whoever."

"You don't understand, my lady. It's only the families with money and good standing in the community that would be able to pay a dowry to the kingdom. Your father put out a lot of money to get you where you are. Now, I'm not going to try and rationalize why a parent would willingly give up their daughter, but everyone must have their own reasons."

Bulma just stared at him, perplexed. "How old are you?" This boy seemed so young, but she could almost call him _wise_.

"I'm eighteen, Lady Bulma."

"And just _who_ are you? How do you know these things? You know my name, but I'm not sure you mentioned yours."

"The name is Marco, and I'm afraid I know all too well about this kingdom and how it works. I work alongside the King as his right-hand guy, more or less."

"I guess we're going to be seeing a lot of each other then, Marco."

He looked at her, the sunlight hitting her face and making her smile glow radiantly. Marco had the decency to blush at the sight.

_Well, what do you know_? Bulma thought to herself. _I guess he still is a boy after all_.

But they hadn't seen as much of each other as she had thought. Atrono kept him busy as ever, and she wondered if Marco had ever had a normal childhood or if it was likewise stolen from him.

Back in the present, Bulma tightened her grasp on the popped-out drawer and pulled excruciatingly slowly. She was paranoid that with one small squeak Vellutini would be on her to discover what she'd obviously beaten him to.

There were letters stacked neatly in the center of the drawer. She picked up the letter on the top feeling the stiff crinkle of old, well-pressed paper. The hand-written date at the top read over twenty-six years ago, yet the papers were in such good condition.

"These letters never got the chance to yellow with age or collect dust." She ran her finger over the next letter on the stack. "No dust at all. He must have looked at these quite often judging by their state and the rubbed off keys protecting them."

She quickly scanned the first letter. If it were remotely important, she would take them back to her suite and study them closely. Sitting in that drawer, they were just sitting ducks for when Vellutini inevitably succeeded in prying it open.

"…child was conceived…"

"…male child…"

"…regret to inform… mother did not survive labor…"

Bulma gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. Atrono fathered another child?! She continued to look through the next few letters, all from the same cryptic sender when comparing the scribbled signature at the bottom. She lifted everything out of the drawer and quickly opened the one capsule she had with her and threw everything into one compartment before anyone could come in and stop her.

She shrunk the capsule and stuck it in her bra—the safest place that Vellutini would never dare look into. The drawer closed with a dull click, and she made sure the number pad was pushed back in, out of plain sight once more.

"Lynna!" Bulma yelled as she walked into her suite. "Are you here?"

The Queen looked around the large room. The bedroom area was clear, the bathroom empty, and no sign of the only woman on the planet she felt comfortable sharing this information with. Bulma quickly looked out the window and spotted Lynna, Marco, and Trunks on the open ground a couple floors, at least, below the one she was on. She wondered if yelling would reach the trio since they were some distance away—near the other wing. Her hand grasped the lock in the window and flicked the handle.

Momentarily, she felt a slight vertigo at how long a drop it was, but it cleared when she focused.

"Lynna!" she yelled. "Marco!"

Nothing.

Bulma eyed her son. With those Saiyan ears, he was bound to hear her if she shouted loud enough. She certainly didn't want to waste time going to get Lynna; time felt of the essence, and she wanted to look at the letters more thoroughly as soon as possible.

She took in a large breath, filling her lungs to the max with strong, fresh air from the outside world before letting loose her son's name out the window.

But the "s" had barely left her mouth, his name still ringing in the valley of the palace wings before a hand clamped over her mouth and brought her to the floor. She absentmindedly expected to blackout quickly like all the other times someone had assaulted her, but for a minute, Bulma laid face down breathing in through the plush carpet fibers, a stinging scent filling her nose before her vision slowly blackened.

Purple hair whipped around as Trunk's head located the origin of the voice that screamed his name.

"What's wrong?" Lynna asked.

"I hear my name called," Trunks replied. And he didn't need anyone to tell him who it was that screamed it either. "Something's wrong with Mom."

"What? Where?" Marco asked. He felt helpless knowing that Bulma was screaming for one of them—because she was in need, or because she needed help, he didn't know—and he was there oblivious to everything.

Trunks said nothing. He just pointed to their wing of the palace where he could faintly see a window being closed. The boy squinted, but he couldn't quite make out who it was. He just knew that it was his mother's form.

"Someone just closed the window. I'm guessing that's where she was calling me from!" But neither Lynna nor Marco heard the tail end of his sentence after he dashed toward the building. Trunks wondered where Vegeta was, if he knew that something seemed wrong with his mother, but it was no use. If he knew, he knew. But the first priority was finding out the situation.

The boy couldn't explain what the scream was for, but he knew that the very end of her yell was full of some kind of desperation. And he intended to find out why.

"Mother!" Trunks burst into the suite.

There was an eerie calm about the entire room, empty an untouched. The scent left behind, however, was completely potent with fear and… adrenaline? Trunks crossed to the window that was still cracked and knew that if someone had actually taken his mother, he'd just missed them.

"Trunks, what's going on?" asked a very out-of-breath Macro as he slid through the door to the royal suite. He'd left Lynna in the dust to catch up to the young prince, and he felt guilty for not waiting up. But he was worried that if they arrived even a minute too late, something might have happened to Bulma. Whatever Trunk suspected would happen, would actually happen whether it be that Bulma was hurt or she was missing. And there he was just standing in the open door to her room watching the thoughts dance across Trunks' eyes as his mouth remained set in a curious line.

"Lady Bulma!" Lynna yelled as she finally caught up to the two guys.

"Someone took her. I can smell it." Trunks said.

"Can you tell who it was?"

"No, but she didn't walk out of this room. She had to be unconscious; otherwise the place would be a mess."


	13. Stale Trail

Tsuyoku: Wow. It's been, what, a year since I've updated this fic? As I was writing the date today, still writing 2012 occasionally, I realized how long it's been and what's changed since. I had a very difficult time writing this chapter… not difficult in plot. In the past year, I've bought a house, graduated from university, and had a baby—a baby who's currently sick and likes to spend most of their time sleeping on my chest, making it hard to hand-write or type. But I digress. Pleas accept my apologies for the lengthy wait. Here's chapter thirteen. As suggested before, I see only one or two more chapters after this before we wrap everything up!

Tempt of Fate Chapter 13

"_Lady Bulma!" Lynna yelled as she finally caught up to the two guys. _

"_Someone took her. I can smell it." Trunks said._

"_Can you tell who it was?" _

"_No, but she didn't walk out of this room. She had to be unconscious; otherwise the place would be a mess._"

Bulma hadn't felt the dizzy sensation of waking up in a strange place since she was killed by Atrono and revived in the sanctuary on Vegeta-sei. Bright and blurred, the sun fell over Bulma's eyes making them flutter open for the first time since she was attacked. Of all the places one could imagine finding themselves in after being kidnapped, this certainly wasn't high on her list: where Bulma was used to the palace walls and floors made of cold, unforgiving stone, this room was paneled in a warm wood with a floor to match.

She lifted a hand, shaking and unsure, to shield her eyes from the sun as she looked around. _At least my arms aren't shackled, though that's a surprise, _Bulma thought. The soreness in her body and the metallic taste in her mouth were a reminder that she hadn't been brought there willingly. She remembered hitting the floor, inhaling whatever it was that her captor placed over her mouth. The Queen stayed fairly still and used the silence all around her to think back. Whoever had taken her had put her to sleep before she was able to see if Trunks heard his name called. Bulma was quite sure he did—he heard pretty much everything else—but even though the yell had not been a cry for help, she hoped that the three took it as such when they no doubt came running to investigate.

The room was quite small with a little cot that served as her resting place across the room from an end-table seemingly misplaced between two decent-sized windows. With the bright light bouncing around, it almost reminded Bulma of the modest bedrooms in her family home before she was sent off to more posh living arrangements. It had been so long since she'd even thought about that chapter in her life almost as if she was playing memories in her head that belonged to a stranger.

She had to remind herself that she wasn't in a safe-haven like her parents' house might be. Bulma felt her heart beating quickly, panicking for her. The thump was strong, pumping blood against her ribcage and echoing within her ears like a painful headache. Her heart only increased its actions as she found footing on the wood floor beneath her. Once she'd settled most of her weight on the ball of her foot, she rose from the bed and was well aware of the mind-numbing screech the bed springs let out.

In a fit of more panic, she leapt to the window and looked out at her fate, knowing someone would have heard the bed springs. But she couldn't tell where she was, not from the few trees and harsh landscaping that were changing colors by the moment as the sun sank.

"Dusk, already?" she asked. "How long was I out?"

Bulma meant the question to be answered with silence, but the adrenaline brought on by a deep voice multiplied ten-fold, and the usually brave and headstrong Queen found it hard to turn around to meet that face.

"You were out for quite a while, couple of hours at least. I was beginning to wondering if chloroforming you did some damage."

"Vellutini," she spun around. "What the hell do you think you are doing kidnapping me? You're finished after this. You'll be lucky if there's anything left of you to bring charges against once Vegeta finds you."

"I figured you would hide behind your new lover. But you should know that I don't feel threatened. I'll be untouchable once I take control of the throne. I'm just here to collect what you found."

"I have no idea what you're—"

"Don't give me that bullshit, Bulma," Vellutini said as he cut her off. "My patience with you is completely out, and your lying does nothing to help it. I want to know what you did with the documents you found in the desk."

_How the hell would he know about those? I wasn't wrong, was I? It didn't look like he'd successfully opened the drawer_.

"I've been spying on Atrono in his office for years. It's called a security camera… the _latest technology_."

"Sarcasm becomes you, Vellutini."

"If you must flatter me, do it while hanging over the capsule you put them in. You might just make it out of here unscathed."

"What makes you think I would give them to you? Those papers are safer with me—the only reason you want them is to conceal the truth." For the moment he said nothing. "I know you have some sort of plan for yourself, and you know those documents could easily break them."

Vellutini remained contemplative for a moment, fierce eyes staring at her in warning. "I believe you've done enough concealing for the both of us since you're returned with King Vegeta. You dare judge me for keeping secrets?"

"Let's not make this about me," she said smugly, knowing that she had him in a corner. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that you don't actually know the secret hidden in those letters, do you? You have no idea who the rightful heir to his throne is, but you know that it isn't Trunks, and that just doesn't work for you."

"Not that it really matters," he replied. "As long as the rest of the world doesn't know, everything still works out. Trunks will stay behind in the end to rule this planet how I see fit. He's still young enough to be swayed… as long as you're no longer in the picture."

"I'm not leaving my son behind. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure the next time you set foot in the palace, it's with the label of a traitor. After all these years, you've solely had your head up Atrono's ass, and you've missed an important detail about Trunks. He takes after his father, but not the man you've been trying to control all these years. He's not going to be "swayed" as easily as you want to put it."

Vellutini reached across the space between them and grabbed her by the throat, gripping firmly and intensely, staring into her eyes and smirking as she began to struggle.

Bulma tried to paw at his hands with both of hers, digging her nails into his rough skin like daggers at her disposal. For a split second, she mused on how tired she was of being kidnapped, shot, choked, and all around mistreated. She was the queen of this planet, yet she probably got less respect than a homeless man wandering the streets.

This was getting old.

"Vell…uti…ni…"

His name on her last breath was no more than a whisper and much less threatening than she had intended.

The man slightly loosened his grip just in case she was ready to talk. Not to mention he didn't want her unconscious for this. One foot after the other, Vellutini walked her backward until the back of her legs hit the bed. The he took his hand back.

Without the hold on her neck to keep her steady, Bulma fell back in the bed, gasping in relief as the pressure decreased and sweet breath filled her body once more.

"Let me tell you something, _Queen_. You've lost your favor within the palace. As I've said before, the servants know you're nothing but a whore who latches onto whatever king is within reach. And every politician within this realm no longer takes you seriously without Atrono around. I'd be surprise to find that you have any type of pull to label me as a traitor. I certainly don't think you do.

"Now," he continued. "Where are those documents?"

Bulma just felt the urge to spit in his face, but she didn't figure she was in the position to do so. He was likely to slap her or choke her again, something she wanted to avoid. What mattered now was getting out of Vellutini's grasp—wherever he had her—and finally getting to the bottom of this business with Atrono's rightful heir. She wasn't going to give in, not when her family's happiness was on the line.

"I didn't find them in your room when I took you, though with that son of yours on the way, I didn't have much time to look." He dipped his head next to her ear close enough that the spit of his breath hit the curve of her cheek as he punctuated each of his next words with a disgusting, lecherous tone.

"Or perhaps, likewise, you didn't have time enough to hide that little capsule. Perhaps it's somewhere on you right now." Bulma caught a glimpse of a sadistic curiosity in his eyes, and she suddenly didn't feel as courageous as she had before.

She suddenly raised her hands to push him off of her, not liking where this was going at all. But the advisor's hands grasped her wrists and forced them to her sides as his head bent to inhale deeply with his nose pressed flush to her chest.

"Stop it! Do you really think I'm foolish enough to hide them on me?" Bulma tried… it was worth a shot, but she could tell he wasn't buying it for a second. In all her conflicts with Vellutini, she never imagined it would come down to this. As much as she was confident she could handle most of the things life could throw her way, she couldn't help that little voice in the back of her mind screaming for Vegeta or anyone to come help her in a moment of pure defenselessness. If he kept going—and she sincerely hoped he wouldn't—he was going to find the capsule hidden in her bra.

But with the way it was going, it didn't seem like he would. She'd seen that animalistic look in men's eyes before.

"Now, _my Queen_, why don't I believe you?"

Relentless hands sought the modest collar of her dress, grabbing the fabric and lifting her upper half off the bed momentarily while he put his nose to her forehead and took a deep breath. He inhaled her scent slowly from hairline to the curve of her jaw, and the entire time the blue-haired woman, usually so strong and defiant, was left speechless and shaking.

But she composed herself enough to lean her head back only to slam it forward with all the strength her sore neck could manage. She opened her eyes to face the suddenly red lip before her, and Vellutini was less than happy.

One hand released her clothing to backhand her across the face while the other continued to fist in the fabric and slam her body back onto the bed.

"You'd better understand the situation you're in; you only have yourself to blame. And I could do this all day because we have all the time in the world now without anyone to interrupt us… The capsule is somewhere on you, _my sweet_¸ and I intent to search every last inch of you," with this, Vellutini cupped a hand between her legs, "until I'm satisfied."

Bulma immediately began to thrash and her female instincts kicked in as he made it clear what would happen should she not turn the documents over to him. She threw her legs out, trying to land a kick on him and punched her hands in the air sporadically in an attempt to hit his face again.

She screamed. It was loud, possibly louder than when she yelled for Trunks, but as the sound was cut off by Vellutini's hand, her lungs felt the hurt. Too bad the air in the room was stale and thick, unlike the crisp, oxygen she'd enjoyed earlier that day.

Briefly, Bulma wondered if she was going to experience such clean air again—or would the air in that room and the stench of the breath escaping that man's mouth fill her lungs in her last moments?

Vellutini pulled at her clothes, and she wasn't sure if he was still searching for the capsule or intent on getting something else. His rough fingers gripped the top of her bodice for the second time, tugging like never before and ripping the cloth as if it were tissue. As he tugged down the layers covering her bare chest, bra included, she began to feel the thick air on her exposed skin and realized that the capsule would easily be discovered if her continued.

Bulma's hands tried to rise to her chest, both to cover her skin and make sure the capsule wasn't going to fall. It was too late, though, because the small trinket fell out, stopped at their connected stomachs, and rolled gently onto the bed. She panicked for a moment and felt her face heat up, and Vellutini jerked as if to grab the small object. But he was only readjusting to get a better angle at her neck.

She pretended to fight back and grabbed the documents' container, slipping it into her mouth and swallowing. It was difficult to swallow, but she managed to at least get it into her throat and feel the muscles inside her force it down.

A hard hand grabbed her chin. "What did you just swallow?"

Bulma just smiled at him and waited for the inevitable slap across her face that came only moments later. "Spit it out!" Vellutini's passion quickly dissipated into anger as if someone had simply flicked a switch within him. "Spit out the damn capsule!"

He slapped her again, forcing her head to the side. After all his abuse, the stinging sensation wasn't as effective as he'd hope for. She was beginning to become numb to his advances, numb to the pain he so desperately wanted to feel. "Like I said," she started to say with a hoarse throat and shaking voice, "you're not getting them. You'll find out Atrono's secret when I reveal them to the public."

"You can't tell anyone if you never leave. And there are ways of getting that capsule out." With his words, Vellutini stood up, and Bulma cringed at the screeching the bed made with his movements. He straightened his robes and walked out the door.

Bulma continued to lie on the bed, feeling the lump in her throat steadily and slowly make its way down, the loss of the advisor's warmth on her body becoming a welcomed chill. She wasn't sure how she was going to get out of that place—or even where she was for that matter—but she didn't want to know what he meant by "ways to get the capsule out." And sticking around to find out was not an option.

She had to make sure that everyone knew the truth, even if it was the last thing she did. Marco deserved to know.

x.x.x.x.x.x

"Where the hell is Vegeta?" Lynna screamed for the fifth time in a few short minutes. "Why isn't he here? Does he even know that, at this moment, Bulma might be hurt or worse?" The younger servant girl worried her lower lip. If something was to happen to Bulma, the Dragonballs were not long an option to bring her back. They disappeared, and she wasn't sure when—or if—they'd ever return again.

"Lynna, calm down," Marco said. He approached her and put an arm around her shoulders as if it was the most natural action in the world.

Lynna cupped the hand on her shoulder with her own and squeezed. Knowing that Marco was on their side was a relief and a welcome comfort. She didn't want to think about what Bulma was going through right at that moment, and she rued the fact that they hadn't been there to save her queen from whoever took her.

Trunks interrupted them with a clearing of this throat. "I think we all know who's behind this, whether either of you want to admit it."

Lynna frowned. Trunks had read her thoughts precisely, and the fact that they were all thinking the same thing—that Vellutini was the one who took her—she was even more worried for her lady.

"I know what you're saying, your majesty, but would Vellutini really go to such—" Marco caught himself at that thought. He knew all too well that the man was less than innocent when it came to the things he desired. "But he should know what hurting Bulma would do to his reputation. And even if it didn't tarnish it, this kind of situation might cause disagreements between the alliance and our kingdom. I agree that he has the most to gain by the queen's demise, but it's just hard to believe that he would do something so… stupid."

"Why the hell are you defending him?" Lynna asked, shunning his arm for the moment.

"I'm not, Lynna. But you have to admit that this is certainly a bold move for him to make." He momentarily searched his mind for an explanation, if any. "The Queen screamed for you Trunks. It makes me wonder if she hadn't stumbled upon something that Vellutini didn't want her to know… or share."

Lynna silently agreed. She relaxed her shoulders once more and stood dejected next to Marco. For all they knew, Bulma could have been silenced forever by now.

"Well, I don't care about any of his reasons. We're wasting time," Trunks said. "We're going to have to track where she was taken, and when we find her, Vellutini won't live to regret his fatal decision."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Now that Bulma was alone, the trick was going to be getting out of there. She sat up and felt her heart pounding in her chest and face, making the sting of his slaps amplify three-fold. It worsened when she shifted and the bed once again ground out a sad sound, metal against metal. She had to compliment whoever thought of putting that bed in there. If you were holding someone captive, the best way to know their movements in the room was to provide the squeakiest bed know to man.

She was sure that she'd heard the door's lock engage when he left, but it never hurt to try the easiest and direct path out first thing. She crept toward the sole door, grasping the knob that was surprisingly warm to the touch and tried to turn it, jerking the door toward her at the same time. But it was no use. With that option down, the next obvious choice was, of course, the window.

Easier said than done.

She slowly approached one of the windows and took a detailed glance outside; she hadn't had time to study what was outside when Vellutini interrupted her earlier. Gulping violently, which only made the capsule feel even larger in her throat, she realized the height. Two stories as far as she could tell, but enough that the thought of climbing or jumping out make her quite uneasy. Bulma would challenge any untrained person to consider escaping though a window that high without developing sweaty palms and a sudden fear of heights.

She would have attempted to just open the window, but Vellutini had already taken precaution to nail the windows shut. Smart man—she'd give him that. Her nails tugged hopelessly at one of the blunt nail heads, but it was stuck fast, a sword in stone that she wasn't going to be able to release.

Ear to glass, she could make out another wing of the building to the right with a stone edifice and windows similar to hers. It was obvious that this was a house rather than a public building.

"He wouldn't have brought me to his house, would he?" she asked herself in a whisper. Seemed like a stupid idea, as anyone who figured out it was him who took her would probably look at his own properties to find her first. Either way, this was going to be a bit of a challenge. Not only was she on a second story, but there was a pane of glass in her way—and only one way through it.

The crash of glass shattering was louder than she thought it might be, but at this point there wasn't much time to think about the noise level. Instantly she knocked out the rest of the large pieces with the leg of the small end table that used to rest between the windows. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough of an opening that she could escape without impaling herself on a sharp point. And there wasn't much time to plan; Vellutini was certain to have heard her escape attempt and come running.

She perched a leg on the sill, feeling the lingering piece of glass pierce her skin. By the end of this adventure, Bulma was sure she was going to have quite a few scars on her body, memories she probably didn't want around. Slipping out, she realized there was absolutely not footing for her to step on outside the window, but she flung her other leg out the window despite the safety hazard. Just as she was about to edge forward and lower herself down, the door unlatched and opened. Vellutini looked enraged, even worse than he had when she'd swallowed the capsule, and went to grab at her hands and forearms that still rested on the sill.

"You're not going to get away from me this time, you stupid girl."

She tried to wring her right arm from his intense grasp while her left arm lifted to push against the side of his face. She had her body braced just perfectly to give him a large push and cause his head to slam on the side of the window. Part of the glass remained, and she could only imagine the pin-prick feeling of pain on his cheek when it impacted, he instantly let go of her arm to grasp at his own injured face and fell back.

It was effective at freeing her, but just like before, when he loosened his grip, she lost her balance and fell.

This wasn't good.

She felt her hands scrap the edge of the remaining glass, he face hitting the stone for a split second as gravity overtook her. The next thing she knew, she was free falling.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"When he said _track_, I didn't think he was talking about something like this…" Lynna said. She was watching Trunks literally stand in the middle of the hallway sniffing the air and focusing on something they couldn't see. His eyes were closed and he turned his head as he listened to the movements of the air around him, and Lynna found it fascinating that he had this sort of power, that he was more like his father than she'd ever bothered to realize. It had always been obvious that he wasn't Atrono's son. But no one ever took the time to get to know him and see the truth.

It was good that his tactics were working because the prince looked quite ridiculous and animalistic doing it, and she would hate for such ridiculous behavior turn up nothing.

"I still don't know much about Saiyans, but I'm certainly not going to question Prince Trunks if he knows what he's doing," Marco said as they slowly trailed the boy.

They'd made it from Bulma's suite on one end of the castle to the other side where luxurious bedrooms and boardrooms were thinning out to the kitchens and servants' quarters.

"You seriously think that Vellutini would have kidnapped Bulma and taken her _somewhere in the castle_? Seems a little foolish if you ask me." She'd never liked the older man. He always seemed so ignorant and too dumb to be helping anyone with the workings of a kingdom.

"Take it from me, Lynna. I've seen Vellutini in action, and he's not as stupid as everyone thinks he is. I know I wouldn't take him lightly after seeing his aggressiveness. Why do you think King Atrono kept him on for all these years?"

"Besides," Trunks continued, "the trail of her scent and ki signature is growing stale and seems to continue past the edges of the palace. I'm thinking he took her somewhere off grounds."

"I think it's about time we found King Vegeta. He just may be the only person who could find her now."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

TYK: I always say this—but it's always true—I'm already working on the next chapter. Now let's see if I can get it written and typed up! I didn't get as much plot into this chapter as I wanted, but my time doesn't really belong to me anymore! R&R guys!


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